Kamen Rider Zero Arc 4: Roots of Conflict
by DiscontentCat
Summary: With The Great Crusade put to an end, Erika finally joining the fight, and Arata having achieved a new form, things are looking high for the people of Jinsoku. However, plans for changing that fact are already in motion. What will happen when things start to spiral out of control? And what is going on with Arata? Find out in this FINAL arc of Kamen Rider Zero.
1. Chapter 1: The Garden Weed

Kamen Rider Zero Arc 4

CH 1: The Garden Weed

A couple days had gone by since the attack on the city had taken place, and things were slowly returning to normal. Though a couple of buildings had been reduced to rubble, nothing felt different for the most part. The city still thrived, though the amount of people leaving it far outweighed the amount going into it. Still though, the recent victory over "The Great Crusade" had brought a sense of comfort to the people of Jinsoku. Though it had been a frighteningly close victory, Kamen Rider Zero and his new ally known as Kamen Rider Valkyrie had successfully won the city back from its oppressors. And with Crusade and his crew behind bars and awaiting judgement, the people of Jinsoku were beginning to feel as though they had nothing to fear. With their two heroes watching over the city, there was only a handful of furs that didn't feel safe and secure.

Daiki was among those furs.

However, for this wolf, his troubles lied _elsewhere_. Upon his return to the city, his boss, known as Headmaster by him and his peers, had given him infuriating news. Not only was he being set in the sidelines, but taking his place would be his own _sister_. This made Daiki's blood boil, and with no other way to exert his anger, he furiously paced the room. On the other hand, Mira, the aforementioned sister, was greatly amused by her younger brother's antics. This was made crystal clear by the smile that was spread across her muzzle.

"And _before_ I got the chance to properly prove myself too!" Daiki snarled, "Which I _could_ have done, had it not been for Crusade's invasion!"

Mira chuckled in amusement and waved her tail lightly behind her. "That's _precisely_ why you've been put on the sidelines, brother," she quipped, earning herself a cold stare from her sibling, "You've taken _too_ long to prove yourself. The Headmaster is an impatient man, and therefore grew impatient with _you_." Daiki chuffed bitterly, but Mira went on. "And let's not forget; after all of the attacks that you led, you've produced _inadequate_ results. You've been using up valuable resources and have come back with almost _nothing_ to show for it. None of your actions have spurred buyers, and therefore you've become a liability to the eyes of the Headmaster." Daiki snarled harshly before knocking something over with a swing of his arm. Mira merely chuckled and rested her chin atop one of her paws. "Don't worry, little brother. There's still a task for you to complete." Daiki's ears perked and he turned to face her. "From the information we gathered from Crusade's attack, it would seem that Zero has achieved a stronger form. Couple this with having the Valkyrie as an ally, the Headmaster has been convinced that the two of them must be dealt with. If they grow _too_ strong as a group, then it is likely that the public will have more confidence in them than the Headmaster is comfortable with.

"Therefore, you will be playing a role in dealing with Amnesia and the 'Riders.' BUT!" Mira held up a finger as she saw Daiki's muzzle open, "You are to do so under _my_ direction, and _my_ supervision."

Daiki scowled and turned away in disgust. "Listen to _you_?" he scoffed, "Ha! And what makes you think that I'll do things _your_ way?"

Mira smirked slightly and stood up from her seat, placing her paws behind her back. She let out a sigh as she walked towards the angry wolf. "Well…I suppose you have a point…" she sighed, looking up at the ceiling innocently, "There's _nothing_ to prevent you from disobeying my orders…" She stopped next to him and furrowed a brow, tilting her head. "…Oh wait." As swift as a viper, she lashed her arm forward and snapped her fingers right next to Daiki's ear. Instantly, Daiki's body went limp and he collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll. Mira let out a laugh as she knelt down next to Daiki, rolling him over gently until he was lying on his back. "There actually _is_ something that's preventing you from disobeying me… _You._ " She spoke in a soft whisper and gently ran her paw down Daiki's head fur. She chuckled before going on. "You were so _naïve_ to think that you were immune to my hypnosis methods… You were so _adamant_ about being the one in charge…and the ironic truth was that, in reality, you _wanted_ to obey… You _always_ wanted to obey…" She wide smile spread across her muzzle. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be so subjective to my methods…" She planted a soft kiss on her brother's cheek before standing up and stepping over him.

"Now you're going to help me achieve _my_ goals… NOT the other way around. Now, you're going to help _me_ get to the top…as my stepping stone…" She eventually reached her desk and pulled a drawer open, slipping out the Memory inside and holding it up. The swirling 'H' shimmered in the light shining through the window. Mira smirked and ran a finger down the device. "And you, my dear brother, will be the first of many…"

* * *

Meanwhile, furs were clamoring about the Amnesia facility, or at least what remained of it. Several rooms had been repaired, but the facility was still a mess for the most part. Therefore, for the time being, the team was making do with what they had. "Thanks, Arata," Erika nodded to the panther as he handed her a box from the back of the truck he was standing in. The panther nodded back to her before stepping away to bring out another box. As he disappeared from Erika's view, the snow leopard stepped away to join the hustle and bustle of team members going in and out of the facility. Knowing that she would be back soon, Arata went over to the nearest box and hoisted it up. However, as he lifted it, his arms and legs suddenly went weak. Arata fumbled and dropped the box back down as he stumbled and fell onto his rear. He groaned slightly as he took the time to recompose himself.

 _What…just happened?_ he questioned as he pat his limbs down, trying to feel for any abnormalities. Not noticing anything strange, Arata blinked in confusion and pulled himself back up to his feet. Before he took another shot at lifting the box, he heard shouts coming from outside of the truck. Worried about a surprise attack, he hurried out of the truck and leapt down onto the ground. He scanned the area frantically for an attacker, but instead of finding one, he was surprised to see Dave and Vince, his two friends, barging into the facility with 6 chasing after them.

"THERE you are, Arata!" shouted Dave as the two of them clamored over to him in his baffled state. As soon as they reached him, they began to barrage him with a series of questions. Arata couldn't find it in himself to answer any of them, as he was still in shock that they were here in the first place. Either way, neither of the two furs were able to ask the rest of their questions as they both suddenly started convulsing out of nowhere. They soon collapsed to the ground, granting Arata a view of 6, who stood over the two of them as she reeled back in her Taser cords.

"What's wrong?! I heard shout…" Erika trailed off as she stepped back outside, coming across the sight of the two collapsed furs. "…Oh…" She then turned around and opened the door, "I'll go get the first aid kit…"

* * *

"So how long have you two been Riders?" asked Vince, massaging the area he had been tased from. Arata twiddled his thumbs on his lap.

"For a while, actually," he answered, "at least ever since I was first seen on the news…"

"I actually only recently became one," Erika answered, "right around the time the…facility was damaged…" She swished her tail nervously behind her as she looked away from the group.

"So is _that_ why you went missing for so long?" asked Dave, resting his paws on the makeshift table they had made.

"You could…say that…" Arata replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Erika on the other hand didn't comment.

"Well that does explain a lot," said Vince.

"But _why_ didn't you guys ever _tell_ us?" Dave questioned.

"What would be the point in telling you?" said Erika, speaking up from her silence, "All that would do is make you guys worry unnecessarily."

"Well we could've _helped_!" Dave argued, waving his paws around hysterically.

"How though?" Arata questioned, giving the husky a look.

"Well _I_ could've helped _fight_ those things!" he said with a confidence that couldn't possibly be mistaken for sarcasm. A silence passed through the group as everyone stared at him. "…What?!"

"Dave…this isn't like the games we've played," said Arata, "The Dopants here mean _business_. You know how many people get seriously injured from Dopant attacks? All you'd be doing is putting yourself in danger if you tried to help us out."

"But isn't that what _you_ guys have been doing?" countered Dave, pointing a finger at both of the felines, "Putting yourselves in danger, I mean?"

"That's cuz _we_ can afford to take a hit or two," Erika countered back.

"Well _that's_ because you guys can become Riders," said Dave, "But if you made _us_ Riders, then we could do the same!"

"It's not that _simple,_ Dave," said Arata. Erika slowly raised a paw.

"Well…it…actually kind of is…" she muttered quietly. Arata shot her a look before returning his gaze to Dave.

"Look, it's _still_ a dangerous job," he continued, "and we are putting our lives on the line by doing it…" Arata's thoughts began to drift as his mind flashed back to what Crusade had told him when he was under his captivity.

"All that they've been doing is giving the people a good scare and demonstrating what kind of power the Gaia Memories can give to them," he had said, "All of these 'attacks' you've seen have been nothing but advertisement campaigns. They're meant to _encourage_ their customers to buy into them is all. It's like an exhibition, a demonstration, demos and the like. _Completely_ harmless."

 _So then…_ Arata thought, _are we…_ legitimately _putting our lives on the line? Are we in as much danger as we're putting ourselves out to be in?_

"Well, _I_ for one should definitely be a Rider," said Dave, "I'm sure I can take down a couple of those Dopants myself."

"I'm _not_ making either of you Riders," Erika snapped flatly, pointing a thumb towards Arata, "I've already gotta look out for _his_ ass, so I don't need to look out for two more." Hearing this, Arata snapped out of his own thoughts and shot her another look, only getting her to stick her tongue out at him playfully.

* * *

Daiki grumbled as he followed along behind his sister, towing along the briefcase she had shoved onto him. As they walked, Mira had a smile on her muzzle. "…Lemme guess," Daiki grumbled in a volume loud enough for Mira to hear, "you're gonna use your… _'method,'_ right?" Mira only answered him with a nod, not even bothering to look back at him. Daiki rolled his eyes. "You're such a cheat, you know that?"

Mira chuffed. "In this line of business, all that matters is getting sales. It doesn't matter _how_ , so long as I _get_ them."

"It's _still_ a cheap tactic…" Daiki muttered under his breath, looking to the side. Mira ignored his comment and continued on her way. It didn't take long for her to spot a trio standing around amongst the foliage of the area. Her smile widened and quickened her pace, calling out to them to get their attention. By the time they turned their attention to her, she was standing before them.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted them all, bowing slightly, "My name is Mira Kawazaki, and this is my brother, Daiki."

Daiki glared at her. "Did you _seriously_ forget to use our codenames?"

"Ignore him. He's a bit on the immature side…" Mira said, ignoring him and further aggravating him, "So then, I believe you three are interested in purchasing some Memories from us? It would greatly please The Earth's Tree if you did."

"We are…considering," said the female of the group. Mira raised a brow and noted her behavior.

"Well then," she began, "I'll have to find a way to _convince_ all of you then…" Daiki rolled his eyes at this comment. Mira then stepped back and motioned towards her brother, indicating for him to step forward. Once he did, he opened up the briefcase and presented the contents inside to the trio. They all stepped forward to take a peek inside. As they looked over their array of Memories, Mira stepped away and carefully slipped something out of her pocket. "Do any of you see something you like?" she asked, putting on a smile, "Feel free to ask me anything."

"None of these Memories inherently impress me," said one of them, frowning slightly.

"Oh? Are you sure?" Mira replied, carefully stepping around to circle around them, "Why don't you take another look?" With all of their backs turned, the wolf was free to walk behind them unnoticed. Keeping her paws behind her back, she opened her palm and carefully pressed the end of her Memory against it. The device snaked into her before reacting to her body, causing it to morph and change. One of the three buyers glanced back before exclaiming in surprise and frantically backed away. The other two looked back and did the same, seeing that the wolf that had been standing there before had transformed into a pale white creature in a purple dress.

A Dopant.

Before any of them could get away, Mira slipped out a pocket watch from behind her and swung it gently from side to side, captivating them all as their gazes became fixated on the small clock. As their eyes followed the watch, Mira slowly walked forward and closed the gap between them and her. "…Sleep," she commanded. Immediately, the trio fell to the ground unconscious in one big heap. Mira giggled to herself and pocketed her watch as she knelt down to rearrange the trio. Daiki huffed and closed the briefcase, stepping away to leave his sister to her dirty work.

"Now then…" she whispered, running her hands down their heads, "You all want to become stronger… To do that…you all want your own Gaia Memories… Well…to do that…you will need to _buy_ them from us…The Earth's Tree…" She made sure to pet each and every one of them, soothing them in their unconscious state. "So you'll _want_ to buy them from us…and you _won't_ hesitate in getting them from us… You _want_ this to happen… You _want_ to buy… You _want_ to obey…"

* * *

Soon afterwards, Mira and Daiki were walking once again, both of whom were carrying the same moods they had carried beforehand. However, this time around, the trio of potential buyers, now turned into _actual_ buyers, were following faithfully behind them.

"…I still say you're cheating," muttered Daiki, leaning over to his sister so that the trio couldn't hear. Mira huffed in irritation.

"This isn't a game, Daiki," she retorted, "It's a business… Maybe if you had _treated_ it like one, then you wouldn't be in the position that you're in _now_."

"Right… _about_ that," Daiki replied, glancing over to his sibling, "what exactly am I supposed to do now?"

"Well…our current objective regarding those two Riders requires that we knock them down a peg or two," Mira explained, "With there being no other competition with us but _them_ , the Headmaster wants The Earth's Tree to reassert its dominance."

Daiki rolled his eyes. "And I'm guessing that I'm _still_ not allowed to just take him out of the equation entirely?"

Mira gave him a mocking smile. "Congratulations, dear brother. You were able to put 2 and 2 together." Daiki only huffed dismissively. "But we're not just stopping there. That team, Amnesia, is also something that must be taken seriously. And do you know the most effective way of dealing with an enemy?" A shark like grin spread across the wolf's muzzle. "You have to gain their trust first…"

* * *

With Vince and Dave having gone back, the two felines were able to get back to work. Once again, they were helping out with moving in boxes from the cargo truck. They had gone back to their previous roles, with Arata fetching the boxes inside and Erika taking them into the facility. "Arata!" Erika called as she walked back outside, "Can you fetch another box for me, please?!"

"Alright!" he called back as he made his way to the back of the truck. With a bit of a grunt, he grabbed onto the box and hoisted it up. But as he turned around and walked forward, he felt his legs suddenly give out. He shouted in surprise as he tripped onto the floor with a loud thud.

"Arata!" Erika exclaimed, climbing up and rushing over to the panther's side. He cringed as Erika helped him sit up. "Are you okay?!" she asked in concern, sliding aside the objects scattered around them.

"I-I'm fine," he replied, massaging the areas of his body that had cushioned his fall.

"What the heck happened?" Erika asked, "D-did you just trip over something?"

"I-I don't know… My legs just felt kinda… _weak_."

"Weak?" Erika echoed, furrowing a brow, "Well…maybe you're just tired. When was the last time you rested?"

Arata shrugged sheepishly. "I can't remember, honestly…" Erika clicked her tongue before sliding what remained of Arata's box over to herself.

"Just go sit down for a minute," she said firmly, "I'll just take care of this."

"Alright," Arata nodded, seeing that the snow leopard was leaving no room for debate, "Thank you…" As Erika began to gather up the things that had been scattered, Arata went over to the edge of the truck and sat there. _What the heck is going on with me?_ he questioned himself, massaging his legs absentmindedly. As he sat there, he pondered whether he really did just need a breather whilst Erika carried what she could into the facility. She eventually emerged back outside, paws empty and ready to grab another crate. Before she could climb back up though, a loud siren echoed from the facility itself. Both her and Arata jumped in surprise and looked to each other in confusion. As everyone else that was outside with them rushed back into the facility, the two of them decided to follow their lead and rushed in as well.

As they came in, the "briefing room" they had scrapped together was crowded with furs. A scene was being projected onto the clearest wall, with Tech standing by her computer and frantically trying to get everything set up as quickly as possible. "What's going on?" Erika shouted as she took Arata with her to the front of the room.

"Someone sounded the Dopant alarm," Tech explained, keeping her gaze locked on her work, "There's activity somewhere in the city." The two felines looked up to the projection and saw a troubling scene. From what they could see, there was a total of three Dopants rampaging down the street. However, looking more closely, it was easy to tell that they weren't merely trying to get attention.

They were all in pursuit of someone.

"I don't know why," said Tech, "But they're chasing after that woman. And things just get worse, I'm afraid." As the first of the Dopants began to slip out of view, the silhouette of Lockon come into view. Tech's fingers flew across her keyboard, and the scene expanded to allow everyone to see the entire street. And with this view, it was now very clear that the sights of the attackers were _all_ focused on the woman that they were chasing.

"2! 6! Valkyrie! Zero!" 1 shouted, immediately grabbing everyone's attention, "We deploy IMMEDIATELY! There are citizens out there that have YET to get to safety! Our number one priority is to safely evacuate everyone still out in the open!"

"YES SIR!" shouted 2 and 6.

"Y-yes sir!" shouted Erika and Arata afterwards. 1 then waved a sharp motion.

"Then transform and roll out!" At that, everyone scrambled into action, rushing to get to their appropriate stations.

"Hah, nerd reference," Erika snorted. Arata shot her a look. "I know, I know. Let's go!"

* * *

Mira was gasping for breath as she ran for her life, running past crowds of furs as she narrowly avoided gunfire from afar. She pushed through the crowd to a clearing in the street, but stopped in her tracks as two Dopants dropped down from the sky and blocked her way. One was covered in scales and bared its teeth at her, fluttering its wings out and lashing its tail against the pavement. The other floated above the ground for a moment before seemingly gaining weight in one moment and landing. Mira grit her teeth and turned around, surprised to see that her way had been cleared up there as well. However, this fact quickly turned into fiction as Daiki stepped into view, accompanied by another Dopant. "You treacherous snake!" he spat at her, tightly gripping the handles of his pistols, "How DARE you go against the wishes of the Headmaster! You'll PAY for what you've done!" Mira slowly backed away, hugging a suitcase against her chest. Just as the gunner was about to make a move, the sounds of engines filled the air. Suddenly, sparks flew off of Daiki and the Dopant beside him, and they both staggered away from Mira. After recovering, they turned to look and saw the Amnesia troopers riding in on motorcycles with a gun raised in their free hands. And trailing behind them was a figure clad in white armor with a cape fluttering behind him.

"Zero…" Daiki snarled under his breath, glaring at the Rider with a fiery passion. With a roar of rage, Daiki turned and opened fire on the incoming group.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

However, before he could let out a second shot, a wave of energy collided against him and his accompanying Dopant, knocking them to the ground upon impact. Daiki hissed out a breath and craned his neck up to see Erika swooping through the air with her bright wings spread. She landed on the ground as they struggled to recover and quickly brought her blade up to guard herself as the two other Dopants came in for the attack. After fending them off and knocking them away, she backed up towards Mira and stood at her side. "Are you alright?" she asked, looking back and forth between each attacker. Nearby, Arata and the troopers screeched to a halt and dismounted their bikes, gripping their guns as they aimed down their sights.

"UNDO YOUR TRANSFORMATIONS AND SURRENDER NOW!" 1 shouted, "THIS IS YOUR ONE AND ONLY WARNING!"

Daiki laughed as he finally climbed back up to his feet. "Do you _honestly_ think that we'd turn ourselves in?!"

6 rolled her eyes beneath her helmet. "It's honestly just a formality to ask, really."

"Valkyrie! Evac the civilian!"

"Yes sir!" Erika shouted as her wings spread again. She grabbed Mira before taking to the skies, with the dragonic and ghostly Dopants following after them.

"OPEN FIRE!" 1 shouted before the air was filled with gunfire. Daiki grunted as he took the brunt of the damage. Shielding himself with an arm, he used his other to return fire before he glanced back at the Dopant behind him.

"TIME!" he shouted at her, "DO SOMETHING!" The Dopant then thrust her arms out, causing the entire scene to come to a sudden halt. Bullets were frozen in place, and everyone but her was stuck in a statue-like state. If it had not been for the clouds still moving in the sky, it would have seemed as though time itself had frozen. This was not the case for the Dopant, however, as she weaved her way through the scene with a casual ease. She soon reached Arata and the troopers and flexed her short claws. She suddenly lashed out and struck each and every member with enough force to knock them into the air. However, instead of sailing through it, they merely hung in the air where Time's claws had left them. Once she had struck each of them, she retreated back to Daiki's side and waved her hand. Suddenly, Arata and the others flew through the air and crashed onto the ground, groaning as they picked themselves back up. Daiki quickly shielded himself with both arms as the bullets continued down their path and peppered him. He let out a sigh and glanced at Time. "Thanks," he said simply, "now let's go after that traitor." At that, both of them took a running start and ran after where they had seen Erika and the others fly off to.

 _A strike from behind!_ the Valkyrie warned Erika. She looked back before frantically dropping altitude. A stream of flame singed the top of her helmet as she descended, only ceasing as Dragon closed his mouth to cut off the flame. He snarled before dropping down after her. Erika growled and suddenly spread her wings, bringing her descent to an abrupt halt and allowing Dragon to zip past her. Erika took this chance to flick the dial on her belt.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

Erika readjusted her grip on Mira before yelling out and slashing her blade to send an energy wave down upon Dragon. He cried out in pain as the attack struck him down to the ground. _Behind you!_ Valkyrie alerted her. She whirled around and narrowly avoided a strike from Ghost. She shot back and spaced herself out from him before clapping her wings again and shooting off with Ghost in hot pursuit.

"Hand over the traitor!" Ghost hissed bitterly.

"Traitor?" Erika questioned, glancing at Mira. She then glanced back, seeing how intent the Dopant was at keeping pace with her. "Jeez, these guys must _really_ want your skin!"

"It's because I'm an ex-member of The Earth's Tree!" Mira shouted over the wind, earning a shocked gasp from Erika, "I was trying to deliver these documents to Amnesia, but these Dopants came after me to stop me!"

"Damn," said Erika, "No _wonder_ these guys are so pissed!" She cried out suddenly as she felt something strike her heel. Not bothering to look back, Erika clapped her wings again and wheeled around to try and shake off the Dopant. "SOMEONE GET THIS GUY OFF OF ME!"

"On it," came 2's voice through their intercom. Down below, she aligned her sights with Ghost in her scope. After predicting where he'd be by the time she pulled the trigger, she aimed down her sights and fired off her first round. As the sound of her sniper echoed through the air, Ghost stopped in place and hung in the air. However, the bullet was still perfectly aligned with him and zipped straight for him. But instead of colliding against him, the bullet soared right through him and left him completely unharmed. 2 gasped, caught off guard from the lack of damage she had done to him. Ghost then shot off again and continued his pursuit. Seeing that he was still after her, Erika growled.

 _Looks like I'm gonna have to land,_ she thought, _Maybe I can drop this chick off somewhere safe…_ "1!" she shouted, "I'm gonna try and lose this guy in another area! I'll have to leave the initial battle scene to do this!"

"Roger that!" 1 shouted, "Over and out!" Having alerted the team, Erika flew off and soared through the air, with both Ghost and Dragon flying after her and Mira. Seeing this, Daiki and Time looked to each other and nodded, deciding to retreat for now. Time allowed Daiki to get a head's start as she awaited 1 and the others to come after them. Once Time noticed that Daiki was well away from herself, she thrust her arms out and froze the area around herself once again.

LUNA: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

The team was forced to sit there frozen and watch as a string of light orbs came flying out at them. Each one struck them hard and knocked them farther and farther away from Daiki and Time. They were eventually freed from Time's trap and flew across the street, landing on the ground with smoke streaming off of their bodies. With them all taken care of, Time followed Daiki into the darkness of the buildings and disappeared from sight.

"Dammit," Arata cursed under his breath, hitting his fist against the ground as he pulled himself back up.

"Don't worry about them," came Tech's voice, "Erika is still in need of help!" Once they had all recovered, the team remounted their bikes and revved them back to life before zooming towards where Erika and the others had flown off to.

 _Dammit,_ Erika cursed, _there's no way that I'll lose these guys carrying her around… I gotta land…_ "1!" she shouted, "I gotta land! I'll be at the clearing near 5th Street!"

"Roger that!" said 1, "We're heading there now!" With that taken care of, Erika tightened her grip on Mira and swooped towards the ground before slowing her descent to land safely. After letting go of Mira, Erika turned to see the Dopants coming down to rush her. Erika hastily shoved Mira away before whirling around to engage the two of them. Ghost was the first one that she reached. She lunged at him in an attempt to strike first, but instead of her blade clashing against his body, it pierced through him with no resistance whatsoever. In fact, even "pierced" didn't seem like the right word, as the entire blade went through him as if he was made of nothing but air. Caught off guard by this, Erika wasn't able to react in time when Ghost side-stepped her and struck her in the shoulder. She grunted and staggered backwards, holding her blade out to discourage the Dopant from attacking.

Though this worked on Ghost, it _didn't_ work on Dragon. He rejoined the fight and struck Erika with one of his claws. Erika stumbled back and fought to regain her footing. She hacked and slashed at him, but her blade merely bounced off of his thick scales as though it was made of nothing but plastic. Erika cried out as Dragon slammed his claws into her chest and sent her rolling. Once she reached her feet, her heart leapt as Ghost came back into view. She slashed out at him, but once again her blade soared through him and left no evidence of the attack behind. She quickly brought her blade up to guard as Ghost struck her and staggered her once again.

"You have to strike when Ghost is moving!" Mira suddenly shouted, much to the surprise of Erika, "It can only phase through objects when standing completely still!"

"What?!" Erika exclaimed, struggling to regain her balance. Ghost roared out and came running at her. Acting purely out of instinct, Erika slashed out wildly at Ghost. Miraculously, Erika's sword struck true to her aim. Sparks flew off of the Dopant as her blade slashed against his torso and knocked him away from her. Regaining her balance, Erika stood straight and clutched her blade tightly. _She was right!_ she thought, _So she's legitimately the real deal then?!_ Using the newfound knowledge that Mira had given her, Erika kept Ghost at bay with well-timed swings. Her attention was suddenly torn away from him as a stream of fire swept her way. She hastily spread her wings and dove to the side, narrowly avoiding Dragon's attack.

"Not all of Dragon's scales are impenetrable!" Mira shouted again, "It has weak spots on the front of its neck and body!" Wanting to test the wolf's credibility once more, Erika clapped her wings and shot forward before lunging at Dragon's chest. Once again, her blade landed true to her aim, and its tip struck Dragon right in his chest. Sparks flew everywhere and Dragon let out a cry of pain as he was blown back. He snarled as he backed away to recover.

 _Now's my chance!_ Erika thought. Wasting no time, she flew back and pried her Memory out of her Driver. She twisted it into the handle of her blade as she landed back on the ground.

^^^ ASCENDING SLASH! ^^^

Ghost suddenly dove at her, but she merely kicked him away and sent him tumbling towards Dragon. With the two of them lined up, Erika took that chance to launch her attack. She swung upwards and hurled a wave of energy at the two Dopants that tore through the ground. The attack struck both of them, and they cried out in pain as their Dopant bodies combusted into neon clouds of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, their real bodies fell to the ground, and their Memories snaked out of them before bursting to pieces. Erika panted heavily and planted her blade into the ground, using it as leverage to lean against. She perked as she saw Arata and the others ride in on their bikes and arrive on the scene. "Are you two alright?" he asked as he dismounted his bike, eyeing the unconscious bodies on the ground as he hurried over to Erika's side.

"We're fine," Erika replied, motioning towards Mira, "In fact, _she_ helped make things easier for me. As it turns out, she's an ex-Earth's Tree member!" The rest of the group all gasped in shock, looking back and forth between her and the wolf. Taking this as her cue to speak, she stepped forward.

"It's true," she began, "and it's why those Dopants were after me. I was trying to reach your facility, but Lockon and his cohorts found out about my plans and tried to stop me."

"Plans?" said 1, stepping forward and confronting Mira, "what do you mean by that?"

Mira nodded before opening up the suitcase she had been carrying and presenting it to him. "I left in an effort to deliver these to you. I've brought with me an array of blueprints and notes about the Memories that come from The Earth's Tree. I've abandoned them and wish to sabotage them by giving you these prints. They reveal the hidden weaknesses of the Memories that they have produced." As 1 stared at the case and the prints contained inside, 6 stepped up and looked to her commander. As he pondered, Erika decided to speak up.

"I think she's telling the truth," she said, "She actually told me how to defeat those two Dopants."

"That's right," said Mira, closing the case, "and I can do this for the rest of the Dopants that appear as well. I'm very knowledgeable in the Dopants that were recently produced. In fact, I have a list of all the Memories that are currently in circulation."

1 suddenly held up his hand and stepped forward. "Alright, that's enough for now. It would be best to continue this discussion in a safer and more private location. For now, I'll bring you to the base. The rest of you take care of those two! Meet us back at base as soon as you are all done!" 6 and the others all shouted in acknowledgement before getting to work.

* * *

The team watched in silent apprehension as they watched Mira and 1 through the one-way mirror. As they listened to 1 ask Mira question after question, Erika leaned closer to Arata. "So, you think we should trust her?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"I'm not so sure," he shrugged, "but if it turns out that she's telling the truth, then she'd be really valuable to have around…"

All eyes went to the door as 1 emerged from it. 2 stepped forward and approached him as he closed the door behind him. "So what do you think?" 1 sighed and folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, according to Tech, all of her records check out, and she's shown no signs of lying about any of the information that she's shared so far."

2 folded her arms as well. "But what do _you_ think?"

"…She seems trustworthy to me," 1 answered, "For now, we will keep her under our protection." He then turned his attention to the rest of the team. "Listen up, everyone! It seems that The Earth's Tree is VERY intent on trying to get her back. So it's safe to assume that they will have their eyes set on our base to get her back. Therefore, I want everyone on high alert at ALL times!"

"Yes sir!" everyone shouted back, earning a satisfied nod from the commander.

"Dismissed," he said, prompting everyone to scatter. As Erika left, she glanced back at Mira, who was sitting quietly where she had been left. It struck her as odd to see her appear so calm and collected, despite the situation that she was currently in. But she pushed the thought aside and followed Arata out of the observation deck. And because of this, she failed to see the slight smile that spread across Mira's muzzle.


	2. Chapter 2: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Kamen Rider Zero Arc 4

CH 2: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Erika's eyes swept the lounging area as she entered it. As they came across Arata laid back on the couch, the snow leopard let out a slight huff in amusement. "You _know_ we're supposed to be on high alert, right?" she said in a mocking tone as she walked over to join him on the couch. Arata craned his neck up and mumbled unintelligibly. Erika couldn't help but laugh as she sat down next to him. "You tired?"

"I…guess so…" he replied after finding his voice again. He let out a yawn as he laid his head back down. Erika laughed and sat back as well. As she kicked her feet up on a footrest, she noticed Tech walking by with Mira trailing behind her. Erika opened her mouth to speak up, but the two canines were already gone by the time the words left her lips. However, it was unlikely that Tech would've heard her call anyhow, as she was far too focused with the task at hand. With the base as it was at the moment, she needed to analyze the prints Mira had brought with her as soon as possible. It was only a matter of time before they reached the lab. Tech hurriedly opened the door for the wolf and allowed her to enter first. Once she was inside, Tech followed in after her and closed the door behind her. Mira then set her suitcase down on one of the tables.

"Alright," Tech sighed as she walked up next to Mira, "let's see these designs of yours."

"Of course," Mira agreed before opening up the case and presenting the contents inside. She stepped away from the table as Tech began to slip out several of the prints and lay them out in front of her. As her eyes scanned them all, Mira clasped her paws behind her back and looked around. "So…we are completely alone, correct?"

"That's right," Tech replied, not taking her eyes off of the prints, "No one will be able to interrupt us while we're in here." Mira nodded thoughtfully as she watched the vixen carefully. "Is there anything that you can tell me that isn't already noted on these prints?"

"Yes I can," Mira nodded as she reached into her back pocket. She carefully backed her way towards the door as she went on, "There are particular Dopants that are listed that I haven't noted the weaknesses of yet." A slight smile spread across Mira's muzzle as she reached the door's handle. She spoke up again just as her fingers clicked the lock. "The Edge Dopant can be defeated easily by subjecting it to extreme temperatures… And the Magma Dopant can be defeated in a similar manner. Cooling it substantially will neutralize its heating properties…" Still smiling, Mira injected the Memory she slipped out into the small of her back, instantly transforming her into her Dopant form. Tech furrowed a brow as she went over the list of Memories she had found.

"Wait a minute," she began, "None of those Memories are on this list… Come to think about it, aren't those Dopants ones that have been released befo—" She gasped as her eyes finally fell upon Mira.

"Oh, is that so?" she said as she slipped out a pocket watch and began to swing it, "My mistake…" Before Tech could shout out in alarm, her attention became fixated on the swinging watch. "…Sleep." Tech fell instantly, falling unconscious before even hitting the ground. Mira chuckled as she put the watch away. "Such luck," she sighed, "If 1 hadn't taken me in all on his own, I would _never_ have been able to make him such easy prey. That definitely saved me the trouble of finding a way to sneak my Memory into the base. Oh how _far_ ahead of schedule I am because of that… Now then…" She walked over to Tech and rolled her onto her back before kneeling down beside her. With a soft and gentle voice, she whispered into her ear, "Listen to the sound of my voice… It is the voice that you will grow to love… You will love this voice… You will love to obey this voice… You will _obey_ …"

* * *

Erika perked up as she heard the sounds of laughter and happy chattering grow closer to the lounge room. To her surprise, it turned out to be Tech and Mira, who were entering the room as they spoke. Tech glanced up from her happy conversation and noticed the two felines. "Oh, hi you two," she greeted happily. Erika smiled and returned her greeting, whilst Arata jolted back awake before returning the greeting as well. "I've been getting to know our new 'guest,' and we've actually been getting along _really well_. She's really nice, and I think the two of you would get along with her as well. Particularly _you_ , Erika. She's pretty knowledgeable in the realm of Memory design, just like you and I."

"Oh really?" Erika replied and looked over to Mira, who offered her a small wave.

"Well, I'm actually rather so-and-so," the wolf shrugged, earning a laugh from Tech.

"Oh don't be so _humble_ ," she said with a nudge to Mira, "Your analysis on those prints was _astounding_."

"Well _thank you_ ," Mira replied, raising a paw to hide a blush. Tech patted her shoulder before stepping away.

"Well, I'll let the three of you talk; there are things that need my attention. I'll catch up with you all later." She waved cheerfully at everyone before departing and leaving them all be. Once she was gone, Mira turned back to the two felines.

"Would it be alright if I sat with you three?" she asked politely.

"Oh of course," Erika replied, indicating an open spot with a paw, "By all means, go ahead." Mira smiled before walking over to sit down next to Erika. She let out a sigh as she relaxed.

"So, _you_ are the angel that came to the rescue and swept me off my feet," she sighed as she looked over to her. A blush quickly spread across Erika's face.

"A-angel?" she laughed, swishing her tail beside her, "Y-yep, that's _me_ alright. Tech must've told you then, huh?"

"She might have," Mira replied coyly, "but to be fair, your identities have been out in the public for the past couple of days now." Erika nodded thoughtfully at the statement. "Still though, I _can't_ thank you enough for that. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be sitting here today to _talk_ about it."

"Oh come on, no need to thank me," Erika replied with a dismissive wave, "Just doin' my job. Besides, if there's anyone to thank, it's _you_. I was only able to _beat_ those guys 'cause you told me their weaknesses." Both females laughed lightly, with Arata awkwardly offering a tired smile. Mira looked over to the panther with the same smile as before.

"So then you must be the famous Zero then," she said.

"Yep…" Arata replied softly, "thaaaat's me. No autographs please…" More laughs filled the room.

"But seriously," said Mira, "things must be getting _really_ difficult for you two, now that the whole world knows your identities." Both felines nodded in agreement.

"Thankfully nothing bad has happened _yet_ ," said Erika, "but it's still troubling to say the least…"

"Our friends and family are probably gonna be put under watch," said Arata in a tired tone, "but for now…there really isn't anything that we can do…"

Mira nodded thoughtfully. "So then…does the facility have the info they need to find them?" Arata just lazily nodded his head.

"They've actually had a close eye on them ever since we joined," Erika explained, "I guess to make sure that no one _else_ was going to randomly become a Rider or something…"

"Yes, that does make sense," Mira replied, making a mental note to herself, "I must say, though, the two of you wouldn't have been my first guess as the secret identities of this city's heroes."

Erika laughed and pointed a finger at the wolf, "Hey, what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Mira and Arata joined in her laughter before she went on to reply, "Well, neither of you look as though you've been through any sort of training. You two just don't have that… _soldier_ look like everyone else here."

Erika smirked. "Well, you've got me there."

Mira smiled back at her and said, "Regardless, both of you are incredibly strong. By any chance, have either of you actually gone through training of any kind?"

"We've gone through a little bit," Arata explained, "The two of us have the basics down, at least."

"Well, _he_ might," said Erika, pointing a thumb at him, " _I'm_ well in to an _advanced_ skill level."

Arata chuffed and rolled his eyes at her playfully. " _Only_ because your Memory gave you the skills you have now."

"Skills are _skills_ , Arata," Erika retorted, poking her tongue out at him. Arata narrowed his eyes at her and poked his tongue back at her. Their gazes went back to Mira as her laughter filled their ears.

"So you must have a lot of _confidence_ in your abilities," she said, "but surely the both of you have some sort of…shortcoming? Do each of you maybe have a weakness that the other covers?"

" _Arata_ sure does," Erika said before the panther could say anything, " _I,_ on the other hand am the _perfect one_ with _no_ weaknesses." Erika laughed as she saw Arata roll his eyes. She then pointed a thumb back at him. "It's _his_ back that I have to watch out for, especially with how _reckless_ and _stupid_ he can be at times."

Arata shrugged. "…She's not wrong."

Mira laughed and nodded, once again taking note. "So then, the two of you must make for a strong duo."

"Absolutely," Arata said with a bit of pride, "It's difficult for _anyone_ to get the drop on us whenever we're working together. We found _that_ out during Crusade's attack." Mira smiled at him and took note once more.

"But that's enough about _us_ ," said Erika, swishing her tail beside her, "I wanna get to know about _you_ more. What did you do when you worked with The Earth's Tree?"

Mira smirked and flicked an ear. "Well, I worked on Memory analysis and assessment before I escaped." Erika nodded thoughtfully, listening attentively. Another smirk curled up at the corners of the wolf's lips. _That was too easy,_ she thought, _I got so much useful info out of them with so little effort… And keeping info from_ them _should be_ just _as easy. I'm sure anything that I say here will be passed off as the truth. Oh how delightfully_ gullible _these "heroes" are…_

"So what was it like?" Erika asked, "Working for them, I mean?"

"They worked me pretty hard," Mira claimed, "It's a big organization, but they still need everyone working there to be on top of their jobs. In my case, they had me _constantly_ come up with new designs for the Memories' structures, with _each_ new design needing to trump the last. It was exhausting work, and the knowledge that all of those Memories would be sold to dangerous and violent people made me feel _that much worse_."

Arata perked up upon hearing this. He thought back to what Crusade had said when he had been explaining himself to him. Hearing that these Memories were being sold to dangerous people felt…strangely comforting to Arata, as it at least confirmed some of Arata's concerns regarding the practice. Regardless, he still couldn't shake the feeling of doubt that Crusade had put in him. He was suddenly brought out of his thoughts as he heard Mira sigh.

"Honestly I…I'd rather not go into any further detail," she sighed, lowering her ears and gaze. Erika nodded in understanding and decided against prying any further. Mira then clapped her paws together and smiled at Erika. "But on the subject of designs, Erika. How about I finally show you the designs that I brought with me from The Earth's Tree? I'm sure that they will help out greatly in designing new Memories of your own."

Hearing this, Erika mirrored Mira's smile and perked up with excitement. "I'd _love_ to! Arata, you gonna just be here?" She glanced over to him to see him nod in response. Her smile widened as she looked back to Mira. "Alright, let's go!"

Mira smiled and chuckled at her enthusiasm. With a swish of her tail, she stood up from her seat and started for the lab with Erika trailing behind. But before either of them could leave the room, Tech emerged from the doorway and stopped suddenly. "Oh, sorry," she apologized, having been startled from them being so close to the door upon her opening it, "Hate to break this up, but we need everyone to gather in the briefing room."

"Aww, _really_?" said Erika. Mira was thankful for this, as she had spoken up just in time to conceal a slight snarl that had escaped from her lips.

"Yup," Tech confirmed with a nod. She peeked her head in further to the room and looked to Arata. "That includes you too, Arata! Come on, we gotta go."

"Oh, alright," Arata replied before pulling himself up with a grunt. As Tech led the two felines away, Mira trailed behind with a scowl on her face.

 _No…it's fine…_ she thought _, there will be plenty of opportunities… For the Valkyrie, as well as everyone_ else _in this facility…_

* * *

As Tech had said, everyone had gathered in the briefing room, troopers and technicians alike. Mira stood at the center of the room, all eyes glued on her as she went through a list of Memories that she had written down. "And then there is Jewel," she listed off, "It produces an extremely durable Dopant that's nearly immune to all physical damage. To take it down, you will need to find the weak points hidden amongst its body. You will be able to identify them by minute cracks on the gems covering its body." She glanced up from her list briefly to see everyone listening attentively. "There is also Gene. The Dopant it creates is capable of rearranging the atoms of any given object or person. However, the Dopant itself is weak, so it should be easily taken care of with enough well placed hits. Odds are that it will be accompanied by another Dopant, so be prepared to fight another in the case that that happens."

Her speech was brought to an abrupt halt as the alarms in the base suddenly went off. Everyone scrambled to their appropriate stations in a heartbeat, and within moments, the projector was on, and an image of a street was displayed up on the wall for all to see. And on that street, Lockon and the Dopant from before were rampaging once more. Mira nodded before looking back to the troopers.

"That's Kamen Hunter Lockon, and the Dopant with him is Time," she explained, "I'm sure by now that all of you are familiar with Lockon's abilities, but not his tactics. He keeps his distance and shoots from afar, as he is quick to run away due to his shortcomings in close combat. Your best bet if you plan to take him down is to get as close in as you can. When it comes to Time, it's the opposite. Her ability to freeze time around her has a limited range of the average block on a street. Once her ability is cast, everyone and everything but her is allowed to move freely within that space. However, anything that enters that area _after_ she has cast her ability is free game, so long range sniper attacks will be the key to victory."

"Did everyone get that?!" 1 shouted. Once everyone nodded in response, he shouted, "2! You're taking the sniper role! Everyone else is on civilian evacuation first and foremost!"

"Yes sir!" everyone shouted. Then, on 1's command, everyone rushed out to deploy.

* * *

"MIRA!" Daiki screamed, destroying a car parked in his way, "We're COMING for you, you vile TRAITOR!" Time followed silently alongside him, allowing him to destroy anything and everything in his way. He stopped screaming momentarily as he spotted Arata and Erika zooming towards them. Hearing more engines coming from behind, he turned around and saw 1 and 6 swerve into view.

"Arata! Erika!" 1 shouted, "There are five civilians on the street you're approaching! Three to your left, one further down from them, and one to the right where Lockon and Time are approaching! Valkyrie, rescue the one near the attackers! Zero, evac the three to your left first!"

"Yes sir!" they both shouted before breaking off from each other to follow their given orders.

"6! There are four civilians hiding behind the rubble! You escort them to safety!"

"Roger that!" 6 shouted before zooming away.

"2, are you in position?!" 1 shouted.

"Yes sir," 2 answered, "I've got the two of them in my sights."

"Remain on standby until further notice!" 1 shouted at her over the chaos.

"Roger that," 2 replied, "Over and out."

Daiki snarled bitterly before throwing both of his arms to the side and roaring, "HAND OVER THE TRAITOR!" And in a fit of rage, he opened fire on everyone, only aiming in their general direction. Erika hastily swooped to the side and scooped up her target civilian, flying away with her before dropping her off on a distant rooftop. Meanwhile, Arata screeched to a halt in front of his target civilians and threw his cloak over his body, using himself as a shield as Daiki's blasts struck him. Daiki growled as he was suddenly pelted by shots coming from 1. He roared out in fury before swinging his full attention over to the trooper.

"Okay!" 1 shouted, dodging Daiki's blasts, "Civilians are all escorted away! Riders! Go in for the attack!"

"About time!" shouted Erika before she and Arata rushed towards the battlefield. Erika was the first to reach the attackers, and she greeted them with swift strikes from above. Meanwhile, Arata was speeding in on his bike and letting off several blasts from his gun that pelted them as they tried to defend themselves. Daiki tried to fight back by firing off his homing light orbs, but they were futile against the speed and precision of Erika. The airborne Rider eventually decided to touch down and engage Daiki head on.

"TIME!" But as soon as Daiki cried out to his Dopant partner, everything came to a sudden halt. Even Arata, who had leapt into the air off of his bike, hung in place like a moment in a photo.

"Shit," 2 cursed under her breath, looking through her scope, "Arata and Erika are blocking! I don't have a clear shot!" Time huffed before flexing her claws and striking away at Erika. She landed several good hits before knocking her off to the side for good measure. Her gaze then swung over to Arata, who was only a few feet away from colliding into Daiki. With a snarl, she rushed forward and volleyed him with a succession of blows. Still not satisfied, she charged forward before kicking him away, ensuring that he wouldn't come crashing back in. But as Arata was blown back, she stepped into 2's line of sight. With a smile, the trooper pulled the trigger and let off a round. Her shot landed right on target, and the round pierced into the Dopant's body. Time cried out in pain as time and space around her returned to normal. Arata and Erika let out similar cries of pain as they came crashing down.

Erika was the quickest to recover. Using her wings to right herself, she leapt right back into the fight and lunged at Daiki. The tip of her blade struck against his chest, and sparks came flying off of him. He frantically fired off as many shots as he could in an attempt to fend her off, but they did little more than stall for seconds at a time. But just as Erika was about to land another blow, time was brought to a halt once more by Daiki's Dopant partner. Time moved once more to strike at Erika, but 2 fired off another round and shot her once more. Instantly, time resumed, and Daiki was forced to take Erika's attack.

"Damn that SNAKE!" he hissed in fury, "She's already begun to tell them of our weaknesses!"

As Arata got back up, he immediately noticed how literally _everyone_ was in action but him. With Erika attacking Daiki head on, and the troopers all providing support, Arata felt as though he had taken a back seat to the action. He clenched his fists before shouting out and rushing forward. "W-wait! Arata!" 2 shouted, "You're blocking the way!" It was too late to stop him, as once again, the area was brought to a sudden halt by Time. 2 snarled beneath her mask, unable to fire at the Dopant responsible.

"Now I see," mumbled Time, "the sniper is coming from _that_ direction… Excuse me, Lockon…" She reached out and swiped one of Daiki's guns out of his paw and aimed it right at Erika. Without hesitation, Time unloaded shot after shot into the Rider. Each shot exploded against her body and sent her further and further back. 2 snarled and clutched her sniper tightly.

"Sorry about this, Arata," she hissed before aiming at Arata's shoulder. She pulled the trigger and fired off her shot, causing her bullet to burst against his shoulder and turn him just enough for her to get a good shot at Time. The Dopant didn't get enough time to react, as 2's next shot landed right against Time's side. She cried out as everyone was released from her hold. Erika and Arata both let out cries as physics asserted themselves upon them once more, with Arata falling face first to the ground and Erika crashing against one of the nearby walls.

"Jeez," sighed Daiki as he swiped back his pistol, "There's such a thing as ' _please._ '" He then clicked the panel on the back of it.

LUNA: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

He let out a shout before pulling the trigger and unleashing a cluster of light orbs into the air. They all circled around rapidly before focusing in a line and shooting towards 1 and 6. Both of them acted quickly and tried to blast them out of the air, but they all dispersed from one another and made that task extremely difficult. When their efforts were proven to be futile, they immediately switched to trying to dive out of the way of them. This too was futile, as it was only a matter of seconds before the orbs caught up to them and blew up against them. They cried out as their armor was disintegrated, and they were thrown back into their normal bodies. "Guys!" Arata shouted in concern as they fell to the ground groaning. Both troopers cringed as they dragged themselves to the side and under cover. Arata clenched his fist and picked himself back up. "Alright…" he growled as Erika dove back in, "looks like it's time to take that new form out for another spin…" With a grunt, he thrust his arm forward and summoned his icicle-like blade to his paw with a small blizzard. Without hesitation, he pried his Memory out of his Driver and plunged it into the hilt of his blade.

 **»** _**FREEZE**_ _ **: MIRACLE DRIVE!**_ **«**

Suddenly, his body burst into a howling blizzard that overtook the entire block. Daiki and Time both tried to fight against the freezing winds as Erika retreated from attacking them. Then, with a loud CLAP, the blizzard parted and revealed Arata in his heavier form standing proud. He reached down and pried his blade from the ground. "Valkyrie! Go high!" he shouted as he swung his blade backwards. Erika nodded and shot upwards, allowing Arata a clear shot as he swung his blade forward. The swing launched a wave of ice crashing into both Time and Daiki. Whilst Daiki dove to the side, the Dopant raised her arm and froze the area once again. However, 2 shot her and the rest of the place right back into regular time, forcing her to become entrapped in a large block of ice. With Time having nowhere left to run, Arata was free to rush forward with all of his might.

 **»** _**FREEZE**_ _ **: MIRACLE CHARGE!**_ **«**

A bright light burned from within Arata's blade before he drove it through Time's body, shattering the ice block and obliterating Time herself. Through the snow cloud kicked up by the explosion, the unconscious body of Time's true self flew out and skidded onto the pavement with her Memory flying out of her and shattering mid-air. Daiki let out a gasp as he witnessed this. "What…power…" he gasped, "Is this really how strong he's become?!"

"That's right, Lockon," Arata answered, pointing his blade at the armored wolf, "and you're—" Arata stopped as a sharp chill shot through his head. The grip on his blade faltered as he began to stagger forward. He let out a trembling breath as he held his free paw against his head.

"Zero?!" shouted Erika, growing concerned, "What's wrong? Are you alright?!" Arata tried to answer, but suddenly, his legs gave out on him and he collapsed to the ground. "ARATA!" Erika shouted in surprise.

"Now's my chance!" Daiki said to himself before blasting Erika with his Heat pistol. She cried out and shielded herself with an arm as Daiki made a run for it. 2 tried to shoot him down with several rounds, but unfortunately for her, the wolf was too quick and evasive for her. As a result, he disappeared from the scene. Erika cringed as she shook herself off, seeing that he was gone after the smoke had settled. However, when her eyes fell upon Arata's collapsed form and dulled out eyes, she shouted out in concern and rushed over to his side.

"Arata?!" she shouted, kneeling down and pulling him up by the shoulders, "Arata, speak to me! Are you alright?! What's going on?!" Not an answer. And to make things worse, he was completely limp. "Arata, can you hear me?! Arata! Arata wake up!" And still, no response. Her heart racing a mile a minute, she looked up from him and shouted, "Someone get help! Arata's not waking up!"


	3. Chapter 3: The Consequences of Action

Kamen Rider Zero Arc 4

CH 3: The Consequences of Action

Arata's eyes fluttered open as the recovery pod he was sitting in popped open. Once his vision cleared, he saw Tech sitting in wait next to his pod. "…So…do you know what's going on?" he asked her with a bit of effort. However, from the grim expression written across Tech's face, he could tell that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"…There's no easy way of telling you this," she eventually sighed.

"…Tell me what?" he asked, sitting up slightly. Tech pursed her lips together and hesitated. She turned to the side and picked up what appeared to be a brain scan.

"I've ran you through several tests," she explained, keeping her eyes on the scan, "and…from what I can tell…it would seem that you've developed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis…" She paused before meeting Arata's gaze once more. "…ALS…"

Arata's heart nearly stopped as soon as the letters left her lips. He sat back against the pod as he took the time to think about the gravity of what he had just heard. He had only heard of this disease every now and again, so he didn't know much about it. However, the one thing he _did_ know about it was what had made his heart skip a beat.

There was no known cure.

Arata licked his lips to wet his suddenly dry mouth. After swallowing a bit of saliva, he asked, "Do you…know how this happened? Like…how I got it?"

"I have my suspicions…" Tech sighed, lowering the scan, "Do you remember what happened after Crusade destroyed your Driver?"

Arata cringed as the memory was brought up. "How could I forget? I felt so backed up against the wall that I ended up using my Memory to become a Dopant." Arata paused for a moment. "…Do you think…that's what caused it?"

Tech nodded grimly and raised the brain scan back up. "It's definitely possible. After all, you did jam the Memory into your head. From the scans I made, it appears that using your Memory that way ended up heavily affecting your brain stem as well as many nerves in your spine…"

Arata shook his head, still having trouble taking this all in. "I…I can't believe this… I felt _fine_ over the past few days!"

"Well…it only means that the condition took several days to develop…" said Tech.

"I…I don't know what to say…" said Arata, "…Am-am I gonna be okay?"

Tech bit her lip, keeping her silence and causing Arata's heart to sink as a result. She thought of her words carefully before finally answering him. "Arata…I've tried everything I could… I've ran you through _several_ rounds in the recovery pod, and…nothing made a difference… This disease is…just too difficult to defeat… I'm sorry…"

Arata's gaze fell down to his lap. For a while, all he did was stare silently at his paws. His ears flattened against his head, and his jaw hung open as though it had lost support. "…Does anyone else know?" he eventually asked, keeping his gaze low.

"Only us and 1 at the moment," Tech answered, "I haven't told anyone else yet…"

Arata pressed his lips together as he pondered to himself. "Could you…maybe not tell the others?" he asked, "…if…there's really nothing that can be done…then I'd rather not have everyone worried about me…"

"…It's a little late for that," Tech laughed lightly, knowing that her efforts to lighten the mood were futile. But even if it had worked, Arata wasn't showing any signs of it.

"Well…I don't want to worry them _more_ …then…" he replied, "…Can you just tell them I'm…suffering from exhaustion or something?" Not hearing a response from her, Arata raised his eyes and gave her a pleading look. Still not getting anything from her, he begged, "At-at _least_ keep it from _Erika_! She's the _last_ person that I want to worry with something like this!"

Tech closed her eyes and let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine…I'll keep it from Erika…"

"Thank you…" Arata sighed in relief (though in the lightest sense of the word…). With nothing else left to discuss, Tech reached in to help Arata out of the pod. As they emerged from the medical treatment room, Erika stood up from her seat, having been waiting for them ever since they had gone in.

"Is he okay?" Erika asked in concern.

Tech faltered as she caught herself from telling the truth. After recomposing herself, she answered, "He's…seen better days…" This only deepened Erika's concern, and Arata stammered as he hastily spoke up.

"It-it's fine. I've just been kind of exhausted is all…" Erika narrowed her eyes at him before stepping up to Tech and pulling her aside to speak with her in private.

"Tech…" she whispered, leaning in close and hiding her muzzle from the other feline, "is he telling the truth? Is that really what's going on with him?"

Though it hurt her inside, Tech managed to get herself to nod. "He just needs to rest for a while," she replied, "he's been pushing himself pretty hard over the past few days after all…" Though she still seemed to hold some suspicions, Erika appeared to accept her answer.

"Um…Erika?" Arata called, grabbing her attention, "do you think you can help me over to the couch, please?"

"Coming," Erika called back before leaving Tech and coming over to his side. As she left, 1 stepped in and walked up next to Tech. Her and the commander watched as Erika helped Arata along.

"Did you tell him?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the two felines. Tech only nodded in response. "What about Erika? Did you tell her too?" This time, Tech shook her head. 1 closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "I don't blame you…" He paused and watched them leave before continuing. "…So…how long do you think he has?" Tech bit her lip.

"…Ten years…at the most…" she answered grimly. 1 slowly exhaled.

"…What a shame…" he sighed. Tech only nodded in solemn agreement.

Erika let out a huff as she lowered Arata down on the couch. As he sat back, the snow leopard sat down next to him. "So you're _sure_ it's just exhaustion?" she pried. Arata nodded in response, deciding to hold his tongue. Erika gave him a worried look and reached out to gently squeeze at his shoulder. Seeing how concerned she was over him, Arata offered a nervous smile and tried to lighten the mood a little.

"H-hey," he began, "when did _you_ suddenly become my mother? Look at how overprotective you're being right now… Heh…" Erika chuffed and gave him a wavering smile. "Well, if that's true, then that's true, then that would make you my little baby _cub_ …" Both of them let out a laugh, but even this couldn't rid the air of uncertainty hanging over them. Their laughter soon came to an end, and the two of them ended up staring at each other in silence. After a while, Arata blushed and quickly looked away. "H-hey, so…is it alright if I take a nap? Like… _alone_?" he asked.

Erika stammered as she recomposed herself. "Oh-uh…r-right… Sorry…" At that, she stood up and walked away. Mira watched silently as she left, swishing her tail softly behind her. Once Erika was gone, the wolf glanced around the room, confirming that it was just the two of them.

"Mira? Are you there?" However, before she could move, a call from afar stopped her. "Mira, we need you here for something. Can you come over here please?" Mira clicked her tongue in irritation. Hissing through her teeth, she eyed Arata one last time before turning away to leave.

* * *

Within a couple of minutes, Mira found herself in a gathering with the rest of the team. Save for Arata, pretty much everyone in the base had gathered in the briefing room with 1 standing in the center. "As a reminder," said 1, "our recovery pod is still faulty, so we are still limited to 2, 6, Valkyrie and I as active members." Tech shuffled on her feet anxiously and looked to the side, chewing at her bottom lip. 1 disregarded this as he went on. "Erika, you will be acting as our vanguard. You are to lead attacks and attract the attention of our targets. 6, you and I are in charge of civilian evacuation. They are our number 1 priority and take precedence above all else in any and every circumstance." 6 nodded her head in acknowledgement. "2, you remain as our sniper. You're the best among us at cover fire by far." 2 smirked and gave him a nod of her own. 6 then let out a chuff.

"Just our luck, huh? Arata gets this big new form, and now he's out of commission for the time being…"

"…It is a shame," she replied, "I'm still having trouble figuring out how something like that was _possible_. If anything…it's nothing short of a miracle…" She shook her head. "But…just like a miracle, the form is fleeting, so it's probably not gonna be showing up at our command. We still don't know what kind of effects it has on Arata. It's possible that it's what's aggravating his…exhaustion…"

"For now, we should focus on the firepower that _we_ have," 1 spoke up as he noticed the vixen begin to trail off. However, this statement seemed to pick Tech right back up, as a smirk crossed her muzzle.

"And _on_ that tangent," she said with a smile, "Not to worry, everyone. 1, 6, 2, all of you are going to be getting upgrades of your _own_ soon enough." The three troopers looked to her in confusion. Seeming to take this as her cue, Mira stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Tech and I have been working together to develop stronger Memories for you and your team," she explained, "If things go well, you three as well as any trooper that comes back into action should be as strong as our Riders, if not _stronger_." As 2 raised a brow, 6 smiled and rubbed her paws together. "It won't be long. The Memories we have been working on have been developing rapidly. They should be ready to utilize in a matter of days." As she spoke, she gave a subtle glance down at the pocket watch in her paw and noted the time. A slight smile crept up her lips as she counted down in her head. "These Memories will improve on the ones you currently use and should provide tougher armor—" She stopped as the Dopant alarm blared in everyone's ears. _Right on cue…_ she thought, smirking slightly as she pocketed her watch.

She feigned shock as best she could as everyone scrambled to their assigned stations. Once the projector sparked to life, the image of Daiki rampaging alongside a new Dopant was cast upon the wall. Once the image focused on this new Dopant, Mira spoke up. "That is the Computer Dopant!" she announced, "It has the ability to disrupt the functions of any technological device that it touches with the only exception being Gaia Memories! Do not let it near your firearms and vehicles! It will most likely cause them to malfunction if it gets its hands on them! There is no weakness that you can exploit, so you will have to fight it head on!"

"Understood!" shouted 1 before he turned to his troopers, "Erika, you are leading the attack! Engage both Lockon and Computer as 6 and I clear the area of civilians! 2, provide cover fire for everyone! Make sure that those two only tango with Erika and NO ONE ELSE!"

"Yes sir!" the two other troopers shouted in unison with a salute.

"ROLL OUT, TEAM!" he shouted before everyone rushed off. As they all left, Mira scanned the room. After carefully counting everyone off, she confirmed that everyone that worked in the facility was occupied in this room. In fact, the only two furs that weren't dealing with some sort of task was her and Arata.

 _The perfect opportunity for the two of us to have some one-on-one time…_ she thought as she slipped away and silently made her way towards the lounging room.

"I've got them in my sights!" Erika shouted as she soared through the sky. She tightened her grip on her blade as she scanned the whole area. "There are five civilians hiding behind some rubble to the northwest! And I see one hiding in the alleyway towards the east!"

"Roger that!" said 1, "Valkyrie, go in for the attack! 6, you evac the lone civilian!"

"Yes sir!" both females shouted before zooming off to their given tasks. Erika started things off by swooping in from above and greeting Computer with a strike to his head. As he staggered back, Erika landed in front of the two of them.

"Dammit," Daiki cursed before thrusting his pistols forward, "Hand over the traitor already! Otherwise we can't guarantee the safety of your precious residents!"

"Maybe _you guys_ can't," Erika replied, whirling her blade around before taking on a stance, "but _we_ can!" At that, she let out a battle cry and rushed forward.

Mira hummed to herself cheerfully as she casually walked down the hall leading to the lounging area. Her heels made soft clicks with every step she took. As she entered the room, Arata's ears perked from the noise. His gaze met Mira's as his eyes fluttered open. "Oh…Mira," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and gingerly sitting up, "What's going on?"

"Oh, just another attack," she explained as she continued to approach him. Hearing this, Arata grabbed the head of the couch to try and get himself up faster. However, Mira held up a paw and said, "Don't worry, the team's got a handle on it. So just sit back and rest up." Arata kept his grip on the couch as he sat himself back down, clearly still feeling anxious. Mira smiled and sat down next to him. "My, my, how _eager_ you are to jump into a fight." Arata blinked as she sat herself down beside him. Unsure of how to react, he merely sat there and listened. And as he sat there, Mira noted how fatigued he appeared. _Fortune smiled upon me once again,_ she thought, _now I won't even_ need _to use my Memory on him. I can do this the old fashioned way…_ As she adjusted herself to get more comfortable, she subtly slipped out her pocket watch. "So tell me, Arata," she went on, "why _are_ you so insistent on helping out all of the time?"

"Ummm…" Arata began, still unsure of how to go about the situation, "I just…don't really like the idea of just being…a bystander. _Especially_ when I'm capable of doing something…" Mira nodded thoughtfully and held her watch up as if to check the time. Arata glanced at it as he went on. "I dunno… I guess I just feel as if sitting around and doing nothing is the same as doing the crime itself…"

"I see… I see…" she said thoughtfully as she began to gently swing the watch, "So do you want to put a stop to the attackers, or is there something _more_ that you wish to accomplish?"

Arata's eyes continued to involuntarily follow Mira's watch as he replied, "I… _guess_ there might be something more to it… I mean…when it comes to The Earth's Tree…I don't really agree with their…philosophy…"

Mira's eyes carefully scanned Arata's as they followed her watch, noting how focused they were on it. She smirked as she asked, "And what makes you disagree with it?"

"I…" he began, taking a notably longer amount of time to answer, "…I feel like…they're…forcing their ideas onto everyone…"

Mira raised a brow at this. "Well…that's an interesting way to put it… Tell me then; do you think that they are truly wrong? Or do you think that there is some _ground_ to their philosophy?"

For a moment, Arata didn't answer. With his focus becoming more and more glued to the watch, he was becoming sluggish and distant. His jaw eventually fell open as he felt himself becoming more relaxed. "…They have…good…intentions… Maybe…they're just…a little misguided…"

Mira smiled as she began to swing the watch with more intent. "Arata, sit back…and relax," she commanded him with a soft and soothing tone. Without any hesitation, he obeyed her command and laid back. The wolf leaned in to swing the watch closer to Arata's face as she went on. "Your eyelids are feeling heavy… It's becoming harder and harder to keep them open… With every blink you take…your eyelids will feel even heavier than before…" Just as she said, Arata found it more and more difficult to keep his eyes open. Within a matter of seconds, they fluttered closed without any hope of opening back up any time soon. Mira smiled in satisfaction as she put away her watch. She scooted in closer and began to gently pet the top of the panther's head. "Let your body relax… Just let yourself go limp as you begin to sink into the couch…this soft…comfy couch…" A soft purr escaped from Arata's throat as she went on in a whisper. " _Very good_ … Now I want you to let your mind go numb… Banish any thought or concern that litters your mind… Just…set it free… Clear your mind of any noise… Let my voice be the only noise you are able to hear… And you _want_ to hear my voice…because of how _soft_ and _comforting_ it is to you… In fact…it's so comforting…that you can't help…but begin to drift off…into a deep… _deep_ sleep… But don't worry…because you will _still_ be able to hear my voice…my every word…every syllable that leaves my lips…

"You will be able to hear them all…and you _want_ to hear them all…because they are the only words that mean anything to you anymore… You will _listen_ to my voice… You will _love_ my voice… You will _obey_ my voice… You will obey _me_ … You will obey every command I give you…and you will accomplish each and every command with as much passion and loyalty that you can muster…" She paused and sat back to admire her handiwork. Arata was out like a light. From the way he laid there, it seemed as though he had almost taken her command to sink into the couch _literally._ Not a single muscle twitched or budged, save for his stomach which rose and fell gently with each deep, slow breath.

 _I think I might have outdone myself,_ Mira thought with amusement, _And how lucky have I been for the past few days? The boy is even doubtful over his own opinions… And now…I can use that against him…_

* * *

 _Three behind, two on either side!_ Valkyrie shouted. Erika let out battle cries as she defended herself from the incoming light orbs. Though one of them nicked her shoulder, she managed to fend them off and knock them away from herself. As Daiki added more orbs to keep her occupied, Computer reached out to a nearby streetlamp. He clutched it, and streams of electricity danced up and down it. The light itself flickered before it burned out and shot a bolt of lightning out at Erika. With Valkyrie unable to warn her in time, the bolt struck her and sent electricity through her body. This stunned her long enough for Daiki to take advantage of. After firing several more orbs, he converged them all onto Erika in a barrage attack. The Rider cried out as she was struck back from the two attackers. Before either of them could come in for a follow up attack, sniper rounds from 2 struck their bodies and kept them at bay as Erika recovered.

 _Man…_ she thought, _it's a pretty tall order to pit me against two guys…practically by myself… I guess this is what Arata put himself through before I was able to help him…huh?_

 _INCOMING FROM BEHIND!_ Valkyrie warned her. Pushing the thought aside, Erika whirled around in time to knock away the line of orbs swooping down towards her. As she knocked the last one away, she reached down with her free hand and flicked the dial on her Driver.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

She then whirled around once more and hurled an energy wave at Daiki and the Dopant. Both moved further back to avoid getting caught up in the attack, granting Erika more space. "The last civilian has been evacuated!" shouted 1, "6 and I will now provide support!" Right on cue, gunfire from the other side of the street peppered Daiki and Computer. Both ran and ducked behind a car, seemingly for cover. However, once Computer laid his hand on the side of the vehicle, it became apparent that it wasn't the case. The car's engine revved to life before the car itself shot forward, zooming towards the two troopers at breakneck speed. Both of them jumped off to the side, but 6 ended up with the unfortunate fate of her leg getting caught from the side. She cried out in pain as she slammed into the ground, clutching her leg tightly. 1 rushed to her side as the car slammed into a wall. He quickly hooked her arm over his shoulder as he moved her out of the area. "Valkyrie! 2! Cover us! 6 is down!"

Erika let out another battle cry as she rushed in and lashed out at Daiki. The armored wolf snarled as he backed away from her and fended her off with light orbs. But the orbs did little but slow her down. _To your right!_ Erika stumbled from the sudden warning. However, the stumble gave her ample time to notice the wires lunging out from Computer's body. She hastily backed away and sliced at the wires with her blade.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

She grunted as she hurled another wave out from her blade. It swept down the street and forced Computer to back away from her. But with her attention diverted away, Daiki managed to land several shots on her with his fireballs. She quickly recovered and shifted her attention back to him as she defended herself from his assault.

"Erika, the street is empty," said 2 from her perch, "You're clear to use Ascending Slash." Erika didn't even waste time with responding as she lunged forward to strike Daiki in the chest. As he staggered back, she pried her Memory out of her Driver.

 _YOUR RIGHT!_ Valkyrie suddenly warned. Erika turned and reflexively brought her blade up to defend against an incoming wire. However, instead of being knocked away, the wire latched onto the blade itself. Caught off guard, Erika hastily stuffed her Memory into her blade and twisted it into place. But rather than trigger her powerful attack, the sword only sparked uselessly. Her heart leapt as she realized that the Dopant had affected her sword by making it unable to respond to her Memory. She let out a cry of pain as several orbs of light came flying at her and slammed into her face. Still managing to keep a grip on her sword, Erika flew through the air before skidding to a stop on the street. Once she had landed on the ground, 2 began to provide cover fire from her post. Daiki anticipated this and began to counter-fire with shots of his own, destroying each and every round that was fired before they could reach him or the Dopant. As a result, the two of them approached Erika relatively unimpeded.

 _What the hell_? she thought, _How is it that I managed to survive Crusade's hoard of Dopants when I'm having so much difficulty with_ these two _?!_ She groaned as she struggled back up to her feet. Before she could gather up the strength to rush forward, a wild blizzard swept through the entire area. Her heart leapt as the blizzard overtook the street and clouded her field of vision. _Arata?!_

As suddenly as it came, the blizzard swept by and opened up everyone's field of vision once more. And standing in the middle of the street was none other than Arata in his upgraded form. "Arata?!" 2 exclaimed, "What is he doing here?!"

"Yeah, what _she_ said!" Erika exclaimed, shifting her gaze back and forth between him and the attackers, "You shouldn't be here! You should be resting back at the base!" She shook her head before re-assuming her battle stance. "Whatever. As long as you're here, you can help us beat these guys!" Wordlessly, Arata twirled his blade around and reeled back to take a swing. With a grunt, he swung his saber and hurled out a wave of ice.

 _ERIKA, MOVE!_ Valkyrie suddenly shouted, catching Erika off guard. Not one to question her, Erika hastily jumped to the side, expecting to dodge a wire or light orb that she hadn't noticed. However, rather than either of those things, what she ended up dodging was something that she never thought she would ever have to dodge in her life.

Arata's attack.

The wave swept right past Daiki and his Dopant companion and petered out down the street, only succeeding in freezing several street lights and the street itself. After recovering from her initial shock, Erika whirled around and glared at Arata. "WATCH WHERE YOU THROW THAT THING!" she snarled, "You almost HIT me!"

 _LEFT!_ Valkyrie shouted again. Erika dove to the side and glanced behind her, expecting the orb or wire to be coming at her _this_ time. But she was proven wrong again, as another ice wave swept right past her. Erika gasped as she landed back on the ground, staring back at Arata in disbelief. The other Rider was staring right at her with his blade held at the ready. It was immediately clear to Erika that his attention wasn't on the attackers at all. He was focused _purely_ on her, and judging by his posture, he didn't have any friendly intentions. He looked ready to swing at her, to go after her.

To take her out.

Erika stared back at him, the shock still taking time to register with her. And with a trembling voice, she called, "…Arata?"


	4. Chapter 4: Loyalty

Kamen Rider Zero: Arc 4

CH 4: Loyalty

 _Erika MOVE!_ shouted Valkyrie. The Rider snapped herself out of her shock before diving to the side, once again narrowly avoiding one of Arata's attacks.

"Arata!" she shouted, "What's gotten into you?!" The other Rider didn't answer with words. Instead he answered by hurling out yet another wave of ice. Erika growled as she jumped out of the way of that one and was caught off guard as Arata came running at her. She quickly threw up her blade to guard against a swing, skidding back an inch or two as Arata's sword collided against hers. She growled in anger and confusion as the two of them fought against each other's strength. "Answer me, damn you! Why are you doing this?! We're your _friends,_ remember?!" Hearing this made Arata visibly hesitate. This gave 2 the chance she needed to land a round on him from her perch. Arata cried out in pain as he stumbled forward, shoving Erika aside as he tried to recover. "W-wait! Guys!" Erika shouted as she regained her balance, "Wait a minute!"

Her shouts went unacknowledged as 1 came back in to land some shots of his own on Arata. Arata growled in defiance as he whirled around to hurl a wave of ice at the commander. However, the commander merely rolled out of the way and continued firing at him. "Erika, don't you dare hesitate!" Erika heard 2 shout over the intercom, "If Arata's seriously turned on us, then now is not the time to be leaving yourself open!"

"B…but…" Erika stammered, staring at Arata in disbelief.

 _BEHIND YOU!_ Valkyrie shouted. Unable to react in time, Erika was blasted in the back by one of Daiki's fireballs. She cried out in pain as she staggered forward and quickly spread her wings to shoot up into the air.

"Erika!" came 1's voice, "Don't forget why we're here! We're protecting the lives of the people of this city! We are NOT here to contemplate why Arata's decided to betray us!"

"But…I…" Erika trailed off, the grip on her blade faltering.

 _Erika, look OUT!_ Valkyrie shouted frantically. Once again too slow to respond, Erika was unable to dodge the incoming attack. She cried out as her body was suddenly encased in ice. Unable to move her wings, she came crashing down onto the ground, the block of ice trapping her instantly shattering to pieces and her body slamming into the ground in the process.

"Erika!" shouted 2 as she provided her cover fire, "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," she replied as she picked herself back up, "I-I'm ok…"

"Erika, retreat for now!" shouted 1, "You're too emotionally compromised to be able to help us right now!"

"B-but what about Arata?! I can't just leave him—" she cut herself off as she defended herself against Daiki's and Computer's attacks. She snarled as she spread her wings and flew back to gain some distance. "I'm NOT going! Besides, there's no one else here that can handle Arata's level of power but ME!"

 **»** _**FREEZE**_ _ **: MIRACLE CHARGE!**_ **«**

Erika's heart leapt as Arata came rushing at her with his blade glowing brightly. Left with no time to evade, Erika threw her blade up and blocked Arata's swing, crying out as she felt the full force of the blow radiate through her blade and into her body. She skidded back several feet this time as Arata powered through the rest of his momentum. By the end of the attack, Erika was gasping for air. She quickly spread her wings and shot back several more meters away from the battle scene. Arata didn't give chase this time, instead choosing to watch her from afar with his blade lowered to the ground. "Just…stay out of this, Erika," he shouted to her, "…Please…" The statement caught Erika by surprise. She was left totally speechless as Arata turned away to return his attention to 1. He breathed in deeply as he raised his blade back up. Then, with a shout, he swung his blade forward and hurled out another ice wave. As soon as 1 tried to roll out of the way, Arata threw another wave, trapping the commander in ice as well.

"DAMMIT ARATA!" 2 screamed through the com link as she shot round after round at Arata, "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR US! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Arata cringed as her rounds struck him. He chose not to answer the trooper and instead shielded himself with his cloak. He clutched his sword tightly as he prepared to make another swing, this time aiming at where 2 was perched. But the moment he was about to swing, the light in his eyes blacked out and he collapsed to the ground. Everyone including Daiki gasped in shock as he hit the ground.

"What the hell?!" he growled as he rushed to his side and returned fire on 2, "What are you doing?! Get UP!" He nudged Arata with the back of his heel, but the Rider didn't move a muscle. With a snarl, Daiki squeezed the panels on his pistols.

HEAT: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

LUNA: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

He let out a roar as he pulled the triggers, unleashing clusters of light orbs into the air along with one large orb of fire. All of the orbs slammed into the ground around the Dopant and the two of them, kicking up a huge dust cloud that obstructed 2's view. Out of desperation, she fired off rounds into the smoke in hopes of at least hitting one of them. It took a moment for Erika to realize that now was a good time to blow the smoke away with her wings. By the time she did, the only ones occupying the field were her and 1, who was still frozen in place.

* * *

"He's with you?" Mira whispered into her phone, holding it close as her eyes scanned the area around her. She carefully eyed the few furs who passed her by, trying her best to remain inconspicuous and casual in her appearance as she spoke to her brother. "And he hasn't woken up yet? …I see. Keep an eye on him. When he wakes back up, make sure that he is still intent on helping us. He will remain under my spell for as long as he continues to believe that what he's doing is what he wants… Don't give him a chance to question his own actions. And remember; he is _not_ your slave." She hung up before Daiki could say anything in return. She smiled as she pocketed her phone, standing up from the wall she had been leaning against and glancing into the briefing room, where nearly everyone had gathered. With everyone so distracted over Arata's "betrayal," no one could suspect her of doing anything strange or questionable. This made it all the more easier to slip into the data room without anyone so much as batting an eye at her. _Now then…_ she thought as she switched one of the computers on, _back to work…_

* * *

Arata's eyes snapped open as he sat up abruptly. He breathed heavily as he scanned his surroundings. Already, he could tell that he wasn't in the facility or the hospital (two places he had grown greatly accustomed to over the past few days). He tried to even out his breathing as he ran his paw through his head fur. His ears perked as he heard footsteps nearing his room. He turned in time to see a sharply-dressed wolf step inside. "The boy's finally up!" Daiki exclaimed, tossing his paws up in the air as he walked up next to the couch Arata was laid across, "Good, because I was starting to wonder whether or not it was time for me to dispose a body…" Without so much as asking, Daiki sat himself down next to Arata with a huff. "So then, mind telling me about what happened to you back there?"

"Back…there?" Arata asked, furrowing his brow as he tried to remember what happened. He drew a sharp breath as the memories returned to him. After rushing out of the facility, he defended Lockon and the Dopant against Amnesia.

"Hey," said Daiki, snapping his fingers in front of Arata's eyes, "I asked you a question, Mr. Cape-man. Why did you just randomly faint in the middle of that fight? Were you trying to make things more interesting for yourself or—"

"Wha-n-NO! Why would I do that on purpose?! And who even are you anyways?"

"Who am _I_? You're asking me who am _I_?!" Daiki asked as though it had been a stupid question, "Does my GREATNESS not exude familiarity?" Arata blinked and shook his head, making the wolf scoff in disgust. "Fine then; I'll tell you. I am THE…Kamen Hunter, LOCKON! The one that will DEFEAT you groveling Riders!" It took Arata some time (enough for the wolf to get mad) before he finally put meaning to Daiki's words. A smile spread across the wolf's muzzle as Arata's eyes lighted up in realization and recognition. "Really though, how could you not recognize my dulcet tones?"

"In my defense, I did just wake up from passing out."

"Which is something that I STILL need an explanation for. So OUT with it! What's wrong with you, boy?"

Arata bit his lip as he was suddenly reminded of his condition. He glanced off to the side as he tried to come up with an alternate explanation. "…Exhaustion… I haven't gotten a lot of rest with all of these attacks going on…"

"Heh, that's good to hear," said Daiki before he caught himself, "I mean, it _would_ be good to hear if you weren't on our side now… Which REMINDS me!" The wolf stood up suddenly and pointed at him. "If you plan on working with us, then you need to understand who you work beneath. And that would be ME." Daiki began to pace the room as he went on. "So _remember_ who's in charge, here. Me. Not _you. Me_. I don't care _how many_ power-ups or what-not you manage to get your paws on. From now on, you work under _my_ orders. Do you understand?" Arata narrowed his eyes at him slightly but held his tongue, choosing instead to nod silently. "Good. Then your first order is to get your act together. We're staging another attack later tonight, and we can't have you collapsing in the middle of the fight again. It's just plain inconvenient after all."

Arata furrowed a brow at the mention of another attack. "But no one's getting hurt, right?"

"What?"

Arata stood up to meet Daiki's height, giving the wolf a serious look. "When we go out on this attack, we won't be hurting anyone, will we?"

Daiki chuffed and rolled his eyes. "Listen, kid; we may be staging attacks, but at the end of the day, the damage we deal isn't faked. Odds are that some people are gonna get hurt at one point or another—"

"NO," Arata cut him off, "No one is going to get hurt if I'm gonna be doing this. Not on my watch."

"…Excuse me? Are you forgetting who's in charge here?" Daiki shoved Arata back with a harsh push. "Don't start thinking you're hot stuff _just_ because you're some wannabe hero. You came here to work with us, so you play under _our_ rules."

Arata snarled and stepped forward. "The only reason I'm here is because I'm trying to find out if I've been fighting on the wrong side. If it turns out that I wasn't, then I go right back."

Both furs let out low growls as they stared each other down, neither flinching from the other's gaze. "Well…you sure seem to know why you're here, don't you?" Daiki asked, not budging an inch, "Glad to see it…" Arata didn't question him, seemingly too caught up in his own actions to notice anything strange. With a huff, Daiki turned away and started for the door. "Staying or not, you work under _me_ as long as you're here. Otherwise, you're about as useless to us as the rest of Amnesia is…" Arata kept his eyes on the wolf as he stepped out of the room, not comfortable with taking them off of him until he was actually gone.

* * *

"You can't be serious!" Erika shouted in protest, "After everything we've been through, you're ready to just _drop_ Arata like that?!"

"Erika, I'm going to be frank with you," said 1, "We don't doubt the idea of something having influenced Arata. However, we CAN'T ignore the possibility of him truly having turned on us. If we let up on him during a fight, and it turns out that he has no plans of coming back to us, then we are going to be in for a LOT of trouble."

"We can't forget how strong Arata has become, Erika," 2 spoke up, "The fact that someone _that_ strong is now on the enemy's side is already troubling enough. But going easy on someone with that kind of power is FAR more concerning."

"This is the same discussion we had back when you weren't in control of your abilities," said 1. The troopers' reasoning only seemed to further aggravate the snow leopard.

"But you guys can't expect me to just…TAKE OUT ARATA like that! He's my _friend_ , dammit!"

"We are NOT asking you to take him out, Erika!" 1 shouted back, "We need you to take him DOWN."

"I KNOW!" Erika shouted in distress, lashing her tail around behind her, "I know…I just…" She cringed and turned away, stuffing her face in a paw as she tried to recollect herself. "Don't you have some kind of disabling device like you had for mine, Tech?"

"We do," Tech answered, "Well… _did_ …anyways. The only working one we have is grounded to the base. It'll be our last line of defense if he manages to get here." Erika pressed her lips together and huffed through her nostrils.

"Erika…we need you to do this for us," said 1 in a gentler tone, "You said it yourself back there; No one else here can handle his level of power but you. I understand why you wouldn't want to hurt him after everything you two have been through…but it _must_ be done…"

Erika refused to turn back around, as facing away from all of them was the only way she felt she could hide her emotions from them. "…Can someone at least tell me why Arata turned on us?" Everyone else held their tongues, leaving the room in an uncomfortable silence. As they stood there, 1 and Tech shared knowing looks with each other. Though they didn't know the exact reason, they had a feeling that Arata's ALS had something to do with it.

Tech walked over to the feline and placed a paw on her shoulder, but she merely stepped forward and shrugged it away. With a sigh, the vixen said, "Well…I don't have an explanation…but I at least have a hunch…" Erika's ears perked, though her gaze remained where it was. "I think we can all agree here that the boy…tends to jump the gun a lot… He really hates sitting around and doing nothing, especially when he's capable of helping out in the situation… And…with his recent exhaustion spells…maybe he feels like he's…running out of time…"

"Running out of…" Erika turned around with an exasperated expression, "What are you talking about?! Why would he feel like he's running out of time?! It's just supposed to be exhaustion, right?" Her eyes widened. "…Is…is that…is that not what's going on here?" Tech bit her lip and backed up a bit, her tail twitching behind her with nervous energy. This only emboldened Erika, and she took a step forward. "Tech, tell me. What's really wrong with Arata?"

"Erika, I," Tech stammered, backing up another step, "We-we're doing the best we can—"

"Is it serious?" Erika cut her off, once again taking another step forward, "Is it why you said he's running out of time? Tech, PLEASE tell me. If-if there's something going on with him then I HAVE to kno—"

"ERIKA," 1 barked, grabbing the two females' attentions with his voice alone. Erika settled down only slightly as she met his stone-cold gaze. "There's no need to linger on that point… Right now, we have more important matters to attend to. We need to be sure that you're ready to defend the city. Footage of Arata betraying us is circulating and spreading like a wildfire, and it's left the city and its people in a state of great concern. To them, they've lost their most trusted hero, and right now, you are their last pillar of hope… If you can't handle that responsibility, then The Earth's Tree has already won… Do you understand that?" Though her anger and fear hadn't been quelled, Erika could see the Komodo dragon's point. At the end of the day, she was still the city's Rider. And now more than ever, the city _needed_ their Rider. She hated the idea of fighting against someone she so deeply cared about, but as long as he was working with the enemy, it was hard to imagine it being easy to avoid fighting at all.

"I…understand…" she sighed in defeat, her ears and tail drooping as she turned away once more.

"Thank you," said 1 in a gentler tone, "Trust me; none of us relish the thought of fighting him too. So let's do our best to bring him in as quickly as possible."

"Mmhm," Erika muttered quietly before stepping away. Without another word, she walked out of the room and disappeared from the group.

"Don't," 2 said as Tech started for Erika's direction, "Just give her some space… She'll come around when the time comes…" Tech chewed at her lower lip, waving her tail around anxiously. 2 swished her own milky tail behind her as she glanced to the side. "…I hope…"

* * *

Several hours later into the day, Arata found himself waiting with Daiki in a dark alleyway. He glanced up absentmindedly at the moon as he leaned against a brick wall. Every now and then, he glanced over to the wolf next to him. He still wasn't sure if he could trust him, let alone all of The Earth's Tree. Yes, he was intent on doing this, but that didn't make him feel any more comfortable with them than he was before. And the fact that Daiki didn't even seem to be concerned about the people he and his group was endangering didn't help either.

"It's rude to stare," Daiki spoke up. Arata blinked and quickly turned away. The wolf chuffed at him. "Are you normally this spaced out? You've been staring here and there for several minutes straight already."

"I just have nothing to say," Arata huffed, scooting away from him slightly.

"Heh, well aren't _you_ just a joy to be around?"

"What are we even waiting for, anyways? This attack is supposed to happen tonight, right?"

"Jeez, calm down, cat. We haven't even been waiting here for that long." Arata growled slightly and folded his arms in frustration. "We're just waiting for Computer to show up. Once he's here, _then_ we can start. Why? Are you afraid of missing your _bed time_?" The panther said nothing in response. Daiki smirked and rolled his eyes. "Fine, be that way. I could care less either way…" He glanced to the side as he noticed movement from his peripheral vision. His smirk widened out to a smile as he recognized the approaching fur. "Ah! There you are! And not a moment too soon!"

The feline huffed as he walked up to the two furs. He then glanced over to Arata and said, "So…you must be Zero, then… I gotta say…I'm a little underwhelmed."

Arata chuffed and turned the other way with an irritated flick of his tail. "Don't mind him. It's past his bed time" said Daiki with an amused smile, "Alright, come on then. Best to start before Mr. Cape man gets any crankier with us." The unnamed feline nodded as everyone pulled out their respective devices.

COMPUTER!

TRIGGER!

FREEZE!

The next instant, everyone had transformed. Daiki stretched his arms and legs as his transformation completed before stepping forward and drawing out one of his guns. "Well come on, then," he urged the others, "No need to keep the public waiting!"

* * *

 _Arata…what's wrong with you?_ Erika thought, slumped in her seat, _You constantly throw yourself into the line of fire…you care so little about your own wellbeing…and you even keep secrets from me… When are you going to start thinking about how you make_ us _feel? When are you going to tell me what's going on with you?_ She jerked up as the alarm rang through the building. She was on her feet and out of the lounge room within seconds after getting up. By the time she reached the briefing room, the screen was already displaying live feed of the city. Her heart dropped as her eyes fell upon a familiar silhouette.

"Arata's returned with Lockon and the Dopant from earlier today," announced Mira, "Since we now know that Computer can also affect Erika's sword, it is important that Computer is swiftly taken care of. If your equipment fails with Arata still on the loose, I cannot guarantee a victory…"

"2, taking down Computer will be your number 1 priority," said 1, "6, you and I will handle Lockon to the best of our ability. And Erika?" Erika flattened her ears as 1 turned to her, "I think it goes without saying who your target will be…" Erika bit her lip and nodded, holding back the urge to hiss. "All civilians are already out of the area, so we go directly to our targets. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes sir!" shouted 2 and 6.

"Yes sir…" muttered Erika.

"Then MOVE OUT!" he shouted before everyone scrambled for the garage. It only took a minute or so for the team to deploy, and the group was racing towards their destination by the next. "Erika," said 1 through their com link, "do you have them in your sights?"

"I see them," Erika replied in a low tone.

"I'm going to my post," said 2 before she swerved away from her other two troopers.

"6, you swing around to their rear. I'll attack from the front."

"Roger that!" said 6 before she swerved away as well.

"Erika, I need you to keep Arata's attention on _you_ ," 1 went on, "Do NOT let him get to any of the others."

"…Got it," Erika answered him before she too broke off from the group. As she soared higher up into the air, she locked her sights on Arata. For a moment, she just hung in the air and watched him, feeling a mess of emotions stir up within her. Then, clenching her fist around her blade, she clapped her wings and shot through the air at an incredible speed. Arata didn't even know what hit him by the time she slammed into him. With a roar, Erika hefted him up with her and carried him away with her into the sky.

"The hell?!" Daiki snarled, watching the two of them as they flew further and further away. Even 1 and 2 couldn't help but feel caught off guard.

Erika didn't keep them up in the air for long. She swung around and aimed for a clearing before finally releasing Arata from her grip. The Rider crashed into the ground and rolled as Erika glided onto the ground smoothly. "Alright! Spill it!" she spat in a bitter tone, walking towards Arata as he climbed back up to his feet, "What the hell's making you do this?!"

"Erika…" Arata sighed as he stood straight. Erika thrust the tip of her sword towards him.

"I'm really SICK. And TIRED. Of you KEEPING things from me! So TELL ME, DAMMIT! Tell me why you've been collapsing! The REAL reason!" The command caught him off guard, and he found himself speechless. This only seemed to further aggravate her, as she snarled before rushing forward with her blade held out to her side. Hastily, Arata drew out his own blade to block an oncoming attack. "Tell me before I goddamn KILL you!" Arata grunted as he blocked another swing, this one harder than the last. He huffed out unexpectedly as Erika managed to land a firm kick to his gut, and he stumbled back as a result.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

Arata cried out as Erika hurled an energy wave straight into his face. He rolled across the ground as the attack swept through him and petered out against a wall. He groaned as he got back up and had to scramble back up to his feet to block another swing. "SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!" Erika screamed, shoving him back hard as they caught each other in a hold.

"Who told you?!" he eventually shouted after blocking another strike.

"That's NOT what I want to hear from you right now!" Erika shouted back, leaping into the air to deliver a jump kick to his shoulder, "Just cut all of the bull and tell me what's actually going on with you!" After landing back on the ground, she lunged forward and struck Arata's chest with the tip of her blade.

Arata growled as he tried to gain some space between him and her. He parried a swing before shouting, "You don't need to know about that right now!"

"Like HELL I don't!" Erika snarled as she delivered a firm strike to his side, "You're my GODDAMN CHILDHOOD FRIEND! One that wouldn't even BE in this situation if it weren't for ME! So drop the dumbass HERO act and just tell me!"

With a growl of frustration, Arata struck her back and shouted, "Even if I DID tell you, it wouldn't change anything! You can't stop it! I can't stop it! NOBODY can stop it!"

"What the hell is 'IT'?!" Erika snarled as she delivered a counter-hit, "And WHAT makes it unstoppable?! Is it incurable?! Is it a disease?! What, Arata?! WHAT?!"

Arata roared out in distress before knocking Erika away with a hard swing. Once she was away, he tore his Memory out of his Driver and plunged it into his sword.

 **»** _**FREEZE**_ _ **: MIRACLE DRIVE!**_ **«**

Arata spun his blade around before driving it downwards. Once the tip hit the ground, his body burst into a raging blizzard that disoriented Erika and repelled her even further back. She shielded her face with her arms until a loud CLAP parted the blizzard, revealing Arata in his next form. He quickly pried his blade out of the ground before turning his wrist and swing upwards, hurling a wave of ice at Erika. The armored snow leopard flicked the dial on her Driver as she dove to the side.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

She shouted out and hurled a wave of her own before even hitting the ground. The attack struck him head on, but he barely budged a single step from the impact. As the rest of the wave swept past him, he let out a battle cry and rushed forward with his blade held out in front of him. Erika was back on her feet in time to rush forward and meet his charge. Their blades clashed and sparks flew everywhere. "STOP it already!" he shouted at her, taking his turn to shove her back from their hold, "It's MY problem to deal with! NOT yours!"

Erika quickly rebounded and lunged at him. "Like it or not, your problems ARE mine! They've BEEN mine ever since you ran out of my lab to defend me! Stop PRETENDING like you have to face everything ALONE!"

Arata threw another ice wave at her, but she easily maneuvered around it. He grunted as Erika swooped in and collided blades with him. "JUST. DROP. IT. The only thing that I'll accomplish by telling you what's wrong is making you GRIEVE and WORRY over me!"

"YOU THINK I'M NOT DOING THAT _NOW_?!" Erika shouted, her anger seeming to give her a temporary bout of strength. Arata growled as he struggled against her in a hold, with Erika managing to shove him back several feet even with his heels digging into the ground. "You goddamn IDIOT! Do you even REALIZE how worried and depressed I've been ever since you abandoned us?! You know how TERRIFIED I've been over knowing that something's wrong with you that you never told me about?! You NARROW-MINDED-" Erika paused to release her hold and deliver an upwards swing that knocked both of Arata's arms out of the way. "SELFISH-" She stopped again to deliver a repeating arc of upwards strikes, each one sending sparks through the air and knocking Arata back a step.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

"THOUGHTLESS BASTARD!" she shouted before hurling a wave directly into Arata. He cried out this time as the attack managed to force him back even further.

DESCEND!

As the smoke cleared, Arata saw his opponent standing in her alternate form, with her ghostly-white cape flowing in the wind behind her. He wasn't left with any time to ogle, however, as Erika rushed forward and quickly closed the space between them. He was once again thrust into the defensive role as the other Rider took the initiative to attack. "FINE! Don't wanna tell me?! Then you'll have plenty of time to reconsider once I drag your unconscious ass back to the hospital!"

Feeling his own anger well up, Arata shoved her away and shouted, "You think you're gonna be ABLE to do that?!"

"You bet your ASS I do!" she shouted back as she regained her footing, "Count on THAT!"

DESCENDING DRIVE!

She let out a battle-cry as she hurled yet another wave at Arata. Letting out a roar of his own, Arata hurled his own wave at hers, and the two attacks collided to thrust the area into a cloud of ice.

 **»** _**FREEZE**_ _ **: MIRACLE CHARGE!**_ **«**

 _He's coming!_ Valkyrie warned Erika. Sure enough, Arata came bursting through the clouds and greeted her with a powerful swing. Erika skidded back several inches as she blocked the attack. Having been given a FIRM reminder of the new level of strength Arata's current form granted him, she withdrew with a backwards leap and readjusted her stance.

DESCENDING DRIVE!

As Erika threw out another attack, so did Arata. Same as before, their waves collided and flooded the area with icy clouds. Arata remained on his toes, scanning left and right for any disturbances. He was about to take a step forward, when all of a sudden, he felt his legs give out on him. He grunted as he collapsed to his knees, grimacing as he propped himself up against his blade. _Not now…_ he thought, _Dammit not NOW_! His heart leapt as he saw Erika burst through the clouds from above with her blade raised over her head. He hastily brought his own blade up to defend himself, and he managed to block the incoming attack. However, the force of Erika's impact knocked him onto his back, leaving him vulnerable. Seizing the opportunity, Erika lunged forward and swung down at him with all of her might. Arata hastily rolled out of the way before launching a wave at her, effectively trapping her legs in a block of ice.

Erika's heart throbbed as she realized her predicament, and she frantically slashed at the block and thrashed about to try and free herself. As she did, Arata struggled to rise, even with the support of his sword. Just as he thought Erika wouldn't notice, she looked up from her work and froze. "A…Arata…" she called out, her voice trembling slightly, "What…what's going on with you?!" With a grimace, Arata forced himself back onto his feet.

 **»** _**FREEZE**_ _ **: MIRACLE CHARGE!**_ **«**

He stood in place and panted as he allowed his blade to charge up. Right away, Erika resumed in her struggle and picked up the pace. As much as he wanted to end the fight now, Arata's legs still refused him that option. He was forced to wait until he could feel strength return to his legs. He tightened his grip on his sword as he heard a sharp crack come from the block of ice that kept Erika trapped. He tried to take a step forward, but the leg he stepped with nearly gave out on him. He growled as he righted himself again to wait. Another crack sounded out, making Arata feel even more anxious. He had a feeling that she would have freed herself by the time he was ready. Another crack, and Erika glanced up from her work. She was still thankful that Arata hadn't moved, but this did _anything_ but set her mind at ease. Why wasn't he attacking her now? What was wrong with his legs? Why was this something that couldn't be fixed? Arata let out a roar that snapped Erika out of her thoughts before he charged forward with his blade held out to the side. Frantically, Erika smashed and clawed at the ice block keeping her in place, hearing more and more cracks come from it with every strike. Through some kind of miracle, Erika managed to break free just in time to duck through Arata's devastating swing. As she ran past him, she landed a firm slash across his side, staggering him long enough to allow her to gain some more space between them. He fell back down to his knees as his stagger came to an end, leaving his back completely exposed. However, Erika hesitated in attacking. Yet again, she was witnessing what had to be the effects of whatever condition affected him.

 _Arata_ …she thought with dread, her heart aching for him at this point. She hissed out a breath as she tightened her grip on her sword. Then, with her free hand, she pried her Memory out of her Driver. Just as Arata whirled around to face her, she twisted the device into her sword.

vVv DESCENDING SLASH! vVv

As Erika's eyes flashed, Arata's body froze in place. She circled her sword around before raising it high in the air, allowing the aura surging around her body to focus around the blade. "…ARATAAAAA!" she cried out before swinging downwards and hurling a massive wave of energy at him. Unable to move, the armored panther was forced to take the attack head on. He cried out in pain as the attack swept through him and carried him along several meters. Once the attack finally petered out, he rolled across the ground a few more feet before finally coming to a stop. Erika remained where she stood and waited with baited breath. She wanted him to stay down. She didn't want to have to keep this up. All she wanted now was to bring her friend back home…

But to her dismay, Arata stirred. Using his sword as leverage, he clawed back up to his feet and stood before her. His shoulders heaved with every breath as he struggled to maintain his balance in his weakened state. He tried to raise his sword back up from the ground, but he ended up tripping and had to jab it back in to prevent himself from falling over. Arata growled with frustration as he locked gazes with Erika, who only stared back at him. Sucking in a breath, he pried his sword out of the ground again and took a rugged stomp forward.

"…Arata…enough…" Erika sighed, lowering her blade to the ground. Arata took another step, pausing to ensure that he still had balance. "…Arata…" It seemed her words fell upon deaf ears, as Arata continued to trudge onwards. He grunted as one of his legs suddenly gave out on him, and he had to once again lower his blade to catch himself. He caught his breath before prying his sword back out and resuming. Erika shook her head and plugged her Memory back into her Driver. Holding her blade out to her side, she began to walk towards Arata. His heart began to race as he realized that she was coming for him. He tried to widen his stance, but that only resulted in him losing his balance again. He cried out as he hastily caught himself with his blade. But as he leaned against it, it dug into the ground deeper than he expected, making it difficult to remove. After regaining his balance, he frantically tugged at it to try and free it. Though his gaze remained low, he knew that Erika was drawing nearer and nearer with every passing moment. He desperately tugged at his weapon praying that none of his limbs would give out on him now. His heart leapt as he finally managed to pull it free. He let out a roar as he lifted his sword over his head and swung down on Erika,

who was no longer in her armor.

Arata barely managed to stop his swing in time, with his blade barely touching a hair on her forehead. He panted heavily as they gazed into each other's eyes, his heart hammering adrenaline through his system. "Arata…enough…" Erika repeated herself, "We both know by now that you don't want to fight…" Arata felt his paws tremble, making it difficult for him to keep a grip on his sword. Erika reached up and gently shoved it aside, making it fumble out of his hand and clatter onto the ground. Still, his paws trembled, and he grabbed one in the other as he stepped back. But with every step back that he took, Erika took one forward. This went on until Arata finally got himself to stop. Erika's paw was on his shoulder before he even realized that she had raised it. "No more games, Arata. It's time that you started talking."

With a flash, Arata's armor faded, and he too stood before the snow leopard exposed. With it gone, Erika could now see the pain and distress stricken across his face. "Erika…seriously…don't make me do this right now."

"Then WHEN?! After I find you knocked out cold on the floor again?! After I find you back in the hospital?! After someone ELSE tells me what the hell's going on?!"

Arata bit his lip and averted her gaze. It was clear that her statement had gotten to him. "…Erika…I'm serious… You're going to regret it if you make me tell you…"

"I ALREADY regret making you run out of my lab! I ALREADY regret forcing you into all of this! Do you honestly think that NOT knowing what's wrong with you will make me feel ANY better?!"

"YES! I DO, ERIKA! I REALLY DO!" This time, it was Erika who was rendered speechless for a moment. She lowered her ears as she saw a tear trickle down the panther's cheek.

"…Arata…why are you doing this? Is whatever's wrong with you really so bad…that it would make you turn on us?" Arata didn't answer her, but in doing so, the question itself was answered. This made her choke up for a moment.

"Erika…I know I've been pretty reckless since that day… I know I tend to jump the gun a lot… But…this time, it's different… I don't know…how much time I have left… So I just wanna make SURE…that I'm fighting on the right side…" Erika snarled and whirled around to face the other side, stepping away and covering her face. "…Erika…after meeting Crusade, my world was flipped around… How am I supposed to fight against these people…when they're only trying to do what they think is right? I feel terrible for turning on everyone, but…I'm gonna feel WORSE if I find out that the time that I had left was wasted on fighting for the wrong reasons. I…I NEED to know, Erika. I need to know before my time is up."

"…And you couldn't find that answer with us? With ME?!" Erika whirled back around with tears of her own gathering in her eyes, "Do you realize how much that hurts to hear?! It's almost as bad as knowing that you don't…that you don't TRUST me with your secret!"

"I TRUST you! More than anyone else I know! And that's WHY I don't want to burden you with my problem! You realize how important you are to me?!"

"Do YOU realize how important you are to ME?!"

Silence hung in the air.

"…Arata…if what you're saying is true…and you _really_ have only a limited amount of time left…then I'm going to be…I…" She winced and turned away. "Do you REALLY want to spend the time you have left…fighting _against_ us?" Arata felt his throat tighten up as she said this. "Arata…I DON'T want my last memories of you to be of you as my _enemy_ … You don't have to do this… WE…don't have to do this…"

"…What?"

Erika held her paw out. "We can _both_ find the answer, Arata… Together…"

* * *

Meanwhile, the battle raged on between Amnesia and Lockon's duo. Lockon himself defended against 2's sniper rounds with his light orbs, and Computer kept the other two troopers occupied by shooting electric bolts out of the various street lights and lamp posts that his wires could reach. Said troopers were hidden behind a broken down building, with the wall behind them being the only thing keeping them from being shocked. "We're pinned down here!" 6 shouted over the chaos, "When's Erika coming back?!"

"I see her!" 2 called, "She's flying in from above! And…it looks like she's got Arata with her!"

"What?!" 1 exclaimed as he looked up at the sky. Just as 2 had said, Erika was closing in on the battlefield. Hanging off of her was Arata, whose arm was slung over Erika's shoulder and vice versa.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

With a swipe of her blade, Erika hurled down a wave in front of Computer and Daiki. Right away, this brought their attention to the two of them as they descended down upon the ground. After Arata let go of Erika, the two Riders stood side by side. 2's heart sank as she noticed that the two of them weren't facing Daiki and the Dopant, but rather towards 1 and 6's cover. "…Erika?" she called reluctantly, "You're…facing the wrong way…" Erika didn't move, remaining about as still as a statue. This made 1 and 6 begin to feel restless.

"C'mon, Erika… Talk to us…" said 6, tightening her grip on her gun, "You got Arata back on our side, right?" Neither of the Riders said anything. Their weapons remained still as they stood there.

"…Erika?" said 1.

"…Sir," came Erika's voice, "I'm going to have to ask you to take your team…and leave…" The troopers' hearts sank as they heard this.

"…So…we lose you too…huh?" sighed 2, lining up her shot. "Well then…you leave us with no choice…" At that, she pulled the trigger. As her shot rang through the air, Erika whirled around and stepped in front of Arata, slashing 2's round out of the air. Once she did, 1 and 6 leapt out from their cover and opened fire on the two Riders. Arata ran between them and Erika and threw his cloak up to shield them from their bullets.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

The two of them whirled around in unison to allow Erika to hurl a wave towards the two troopers. Both of them leapt out of the way as the wave swept past them and petered out further down the street. They continued to unload their bullets at the Riders as they ran for cover again. "Guys!" said Tech, "It's time to retreat! This isn't a fight we can win right now!"

"B-but—"

"No," 1 cut 6 off, "She's right. We gotta go." With a growl of defeat, 6 followed her commander as he ran in the other direction. As they left, 2 let off one final round before rushing away from her perch. Erika deflected the round before the battlefield finally fell quiet. She looked to Arata before glancing over to Daiki, who was clapping as he and Computer approached them.

"Well, well, well," he laughed, holstering his pistols, "Isn't THIS a fine turn of events? Now BOTH of the city's precious Riders have given their loyalty to The Earth's Tree. If we didn't already have something to do, I'd be CELEBRATING right about now—" Daiki stopped as he and Computer were suddenly trapped in a block of ice. Arata lowered his blade as Erika rolled her shoulder.

"Yeah, I just got one word for the two of you," she said as she flicked the dial on her belt.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

"Psyche!" she yelled as she hurled a wave at them that busted them right out of their icy prison.

 **»** _**FREEZE**_ _ **: MIRACLE CHARGE!**_ **«**

Arata let out a battle cry as he rushed forward and slammed his blade through Daiki and Computer. Sparks flew off the two of them as they crashed into the ground. "Freeze 'em up, Arata!" Erika called, twisting her Memory into her blade, "We'll finish this up in one last blow!"

^^^ ASCENDING SLASH! ^^^

"On it!" Arata cried before hurling another wave of ice at the two adversaries. Whilst the wave caught Daiki in the leg, Computer was completely frozen in place. Having set them up for her, Arata ran off to the side to allow Erika a clean shot. With a shout, she swung her blade upwards and hurled a massive wave of energy at her trapped targets. The attack tore through the street and rammed through Computer.

Daiki, however, was lucky. Being that his ice was on his leg, he managed to break free before the attack could reach him. He ran straight for the buildings as the wave petered out down the street. Erika was about to run after him, but as she took her first step, her armor shattered to pieces and left her unprotected. Once she realized this, she turned to Arata and shouted, "Quick! Before he gets—" She stopped herself as Arata collapsed to his knees. She caught her breath before rushing over to his side.

"I'm alright…" he panted, "I'm alright…" He leaned against his sword as he pushed himself back up. His gaze remained on where he had last seen Daiki as he sighed. "He got away though…"

"He gets away all of the time," Erika said dismissively, "It's not something we ought'a worry about. If anything, I'd be more concerned over how pissed 1 is gonna be over is." With a wave of her tail, she slung Arata's arm over her shoulder and pulled him along. "C'mon, let's make sure Computer doesn't get up and run on us as well. Then, after 1 gets done with berating our asses, I can drag you over to the recovery room. You need from how hard I kicked your ass today." Arata chuffed and laughed, too tired to come up with anything witty to say.

* * *

"I can't believe how easily you're taking this loss," said Daiki, "We LOST ZERO. How are you so CALM about this? He was our PAWN for crying out loud!"

"A pawn that served his purpose…" Mira replied, smirking slightly as she swapped her phone over to the other ear, "and it can't be helped. It was a decision that he wanted to make, and therefore my influences on him became obsolete."

"You may be alright with this, but I doubt Headmaster will be so nonchalant."

"He trusts me and the decisions I make. Why do you think we were able to do this in the first place?"

"What, you mean your little subterfuge?"

"Mmhm."

Mira heard her brother sigh. "Fine. You've got me there. But I still can't believe that you're not the _least_ bit bothered by the fact that we lost Zero."

"Oh, believe me; I'm bothered by it. However...I recently came across an interesting bit of info that grabs _more_ of my attention… Very… _intriguing_ info…"

"…What do you mean?"

The smile on Mira's face widened. "For now, all I'll say is that we have more loyal customers than we originally thought…"


End file.
